So we walked down the dock and recoiled from the mess. YIKES! The birds have been busy. OMGoodness. But the good news is there’s no osprey nest on top of our mast. Of course, there are a dozen black birds at the masthead and the deck and the Shadetree Shades (thank goodness for the Shadetree Shades!) are COVERED with BS.
Worse is that the deck is a MESS – mostly with RAT crap and chewings….. oh no …. what will we find inside…..
Luckily (or maybe due to us making sure they can’t get into the boat….) there is no evidence of any critters inside. No bugs, no cockroaches, no ants, no RATS, no STINK, nothing inside. It’s just as we left it. The bilge is bone dry, the boat smells good and the refrigerator compressor starts instantly…. WHEW!
OK, I can deal with outside. It’s just a bit slower than anticipated. So out come the swimsuits and the hose and the Woody Wash … and sponges and soft scrub brushes and scrub brushes for the fiberglass nonskid…. all green and moldy… but literally 3 hours later …
AMAZING transformation. When we first arrived about 2 PM today and walked down our dock I would have said there is NO WAY we’d spend the night on the boat tonight … too much to do.
But here I am, sitting here in a relatively clean boat, with the canvas cockpit enclosure in place, the water tanks full, the head re-c0mmissioned, the main sail on the boom (more on that tomorrow), dinner cooked and cleaned, sipping wine and writing this post…..
LIFE IS GOOD! Another winter on the boat, 80 degrees and sunny, David can wear his shorts, can’t WAIT!
OK, so coming back was traumatic, isn’t it always? But a few hours later, there’s light at the end of the tunnel … and did I mention that LIFE IS GOOD!
Welcome home, you two! Wish we could do the same, but we’re still recovering from last week’s freak snow storm – 10″ of snow! And no electricity for almost 3 days… How I do envy you right now!
Oh NO! I’m thinking all the bird crap, RAT crap (????) what’s up with THAT?, and green moldy stuff is much better than ANY snow…. David couldn’t wear his shorts and my life wouldn’t be so good ….. 😉 Sorry Keith! You need to relocate south! 🙂 Cheers — J
Welcome home!!! Hate the black birds!! They have a party on my boat every day I am at work!!
Hey Debbie – I need to get Arthur’s contact information … I’ll PM.
Get the traps off our boat and catch the rat before we get there. Glad you’re back we’ll see you when we get there.
Thanks Rich & Carla! See you soon! We’ll report back on any critters we catch with your rat traps. 🙂 Cheers — J