A Visit to Skylands on the Fourth of July
I spent this last July 4 at Skylands, my home in Maine. Tim Robbins and his wife, Susan Sarandon, who were visiting the area, gave me a call to get together and I was so delighted when they came over to join me for a boat ride. As usual, the views were spectacular and everyone really enjoyed themselves. Come and take a look.
Here I am with Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon aboard my Hinckley picnic boat, Skylands II.
Susan and Kevin Sharkey enjoying lively conversation while
sunning in the stern of Skylands II. The day was glorious as is
evident from the picture. I hope you like the orange Sunbrella
upholstery -- it seems to work well with the teak, cherry, and white of
the boat.
Tim admitted he has never played a "sailor" in a movie, yet he loves the sea.
Southwest Harbor was pristine -- the water clear, the boats all shipshape, and the sky bright blue.
Overtime is the lobster boat owned by the brother-in-law of my captain, Bryan Dow, who also manages the house. He said that
lobstering was a bit of a challenge this year with such high fuel
prices.
Bryan's wife, Stephanie; two daughters, Jillian and Elyse;
mother-in-law, Barbara; father-in-law, Wyman; and brother-in-law,
Captain Hess. The boat doubled that day as their picnic boat.
The Stars and Stripes flies at the stern of my boat. I always like how it looks in the wake and against the sky.
Sharkey and Francesca always come for the boat trips. They keep on
their leashes and harnesses, and spend most of the time napping,
wrapped in towels.
Bear Island is right at the mouth of Northeast Harbor. My friend Martin Morad lives in the lighthouse.
Don't put your boat on auto pilot when focused on a large buoy. A boat did that last year, hit it, and sank!
The skyline of Mount Desert Island -- the bare-topped mountains were
named by Samuel de Champlain, the French explorer. In 1604, he wrote
in his journal, "The mountain summits are all bare and rocky.... I name
it Isles des Monts Desert."
Another view of the incredible coast and skyline of this island
paradise. Mount Desert is the third largest island off of the East Coast
of the United States. Can you name the largest and second largest?
See the end of this post for the answer if you don't know it.
This is the former home of Nelson Rockefeller, right at the mouth of Seal Harbor.
The highest house up on Ox Hill is my house, Skylands.
Another view of the western side of Seal Harbor.
The front drive at Skylands is a round turn.
Here's my Edsel two-door station wagon, which was a gift to me from my daughter, Alexis.
The last of the blue Meconopsis poppies in the council circle garden. This true blue flower is also known as the Himalayan poppy.
Francesca -- statuelike -- on one of the many stone walls at Skylands.
Sharkey on the bench of the council circle garden. I always keep their
harnesses on, with ID tags, whenever we travel, just in case!
I baked two tart/pies for a dinner party. On the left, green
gooseberry; on the right, red gooseberry. One can actually taste the
difference. They were served with buttermilk ice cream made from
buttermilk from the Smith family farm on the island.
We set the table with an interesting centerpiece made from the giant
alliums in the gardens. I always plant these fireworks flowers and
they never fail to bloom on the Fourth of July.
The delphinium were also in full bloom. We picked so many that and
Kevin and Darrah (the gardener in Maine) arranged them in massive
arrangements around the house.
More vibrant blue spikes!
A somewhat clearer view of the giant Allium schubertii and Allium A.christophii.
The answer is: Long Island is the largest, followed by Martha's Vineyard.
More of my blog posts from Maine! Take a look.
Come join the parade in the charming town of Northeast Harbor, Maine
Posted June 1, 2008
Come see what happened when I went boating this past weekend!
Posted May 30, 2008
My pictures from Skylands this weekend!
Posted March 4, 2008
A Fabulous weekend in Maine
Posted October 24, 2007
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
