Life here in Searsport continues to be a like a bowl of Chex party mix…salty, sweet, soft and crunchy pieces all thrown together in a bowl. The bowl is never the nicest one in the cupboard and the crumbs seem to scatter everywhere but you know this kind of feast is meant to be consumed with friends, cold drinks and laughter.
If I were to make a bar graph of how we’ve been using our energy during our waking hours, it would read something like: 62% devoted to preventing ConocoPhillips from colonizing our Bay, 33% to campground affairs like organizing the stuff I’ve thrown under the counter for 6 months, figuring out how to make the accountant believe we really did graduate from college and the remaining 5% doing the non-productive soul-stirring things that we really love to do this time of year like making art and cooking good food.
Searsport Hearings, Photo by Abigail Curtis
That said, just like the way a party mix tastes better by the handful and not picked apart into its individual components, the energy of our lives devoted to Thanks But No Tank has had its own wonderful rewards. We’ve grown closer to our neighbors, met people we never would have found the time for and strengthened the Village we’ve always known existed.
Radio Call in Show with activist friends MJ and Peter…about the tank of course
Last week every waking minute was consumed with the public hearings about the Tank. The most surprising component for me was how poorly prepared ConocoPhillips was (yes I know, the companies have morphed through a series of name changes but the profit makers remain the same) and how 200-300 people gave up their evenings to listen, question and witness the proceedings.
Inexplicably to me, the people in support of the oil company didn’t show up (except for 3 who spoke without a single fact or figure) and the “expert” ConocoPhillips hired to convince us that this heavy industry project was safer than a corner bakery store didn’t even create a map or a chart to show us this project…and when pressed to give details of how far an “incident” could go, he said he refused to be pinned down to “feet, yards and miles” without a calculator to help with the math: here’s the last part of a conversation between Angler’s (our local fish restaurant/motel) and Dr. Raj:
what would happen if a terrorist blew a hole in the side of the tank.
It wouldn’t catch fire or explode, said Raj.
“It’s liquid,” he said. “There’s no oxygen.”
“Let’s say a terrorist rents a room 400 feet away, blows a hole in the tank and another device to create a fire,” said Bearor.
Raj threw up his hands.
“If a terrorist comes to Searsport and stays in a hotel, then we have all failed in our citizenship,” he said.
250 friends and activists gathered in Belfast a couple of weeks ago to demonstrate the actual circumference of the proposed tank
See? I’ve given 2/3’s of my post to the tank…and I’m missing my low tide walk on the beach…crazy!
Speaking of crazy, our weather has been absolutely nuts. We’ve had frozen fog, 50+ degree days, slushy, yucky snow and everything in between. (the Chex party mix metaphor works yet again :))This is the reason why we never quite know what we’ll be doing from one day to the next.
As I write, Steven is out on the lawn mower mulching fallen Oak leaves and we’ve promised ourselves a beach bonfire to clean up the debris we’ve gathered from the heavy winds of the last few weeks.
TBNT gathered supplies for Hurricane Sandy Victims…many of our guests are from that area but all I’ve talked with say they are fine and back to “normal”I wish the camera could capture the sparks flying…and the smell…a plasma cutter smells just like a lightening storm…maybe that’s why it’s so intoxicating.
Yesterday I got to spend time with the plasma cutter working on a screen we hope to have in the garden next year…OMG, have I mentioned how much I like to cut metal? A million Thanks to friends and guests Gary and Diane for lending us such a wonderful tool!
Spreading the spinning bug at the Christmas Celebration at Frenchman’s Point in Stockton Springs
The goats are doing marvelously…Trevor has settled in like he’s always been here and he’s beginning to lose his timidity. I got to visit Brambles on Wednesday with Twizzler’s in my pocket…he’s gotten bigger and is much happier being a companion to a cow then to our other goats. Each day we try to take them out for a walk but it’s been challenging…the fallen acorns are much more appealing to them than simply following along to make me happy.
The Bees are doing well too…we’ve almost completely shifted to honey as the only sweetener we use. I’m thinking the trend is contagious because we’ve given jars to close friends and two have decided that they’re going to take beekeeping lessons this winter and have their own hives in the Spring…now there’s something to celebrate. I think I’ll end on that sweet note…have a great day and I’ll write again soon, Astrig
I always thought the campground was like a package of cracker jacks. Every morning when I woke up at the campground I wondered what prize I would find that day!
I’m Astrig, the creator and author behind this blog. The campground and the art spaces sprinkled through our organic gardens are my passion. My mission is to facilitate camping experiences that invigorate all 5 of your senses while soothing your overworked mind. Travel is my passion and I want your experience to be one of the best you’ve ever had.
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