If we have learned anything since purchasing the property it is how much we don’t know. But we are so eager to learn it all. So many random bits of unknown information and facts which now seem overwhelming but one day will be like nature (pun intended)  to us.. I know we are going to learn all about how to run this particular generator and water system etc. But I am talking more about the incidental  items of interest which we are picking up along the way.

If it all seems logical and simple to you… congrats… but  we just keep asking questions and making a mental note to… “write that down”…. because I find it all fascinating.. if for no other reason to acknowledge the years that I have been coming to the island and yet remained seemingly oblivious to so much of what was going on around me…

First of all.. we have a Clerestory… !!  I know.. I had to look it up.

Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the roof lines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows above eye level. In either case, the purpose is to bring outside light, fresh air, or both into the inner space.

So there is my new word of the day. Clerestory.

Other random bits.

– We asked why the coast guard had been hanging around all weekend?  With no apparent purpose they had been slowly zig zaging across the channel. But M, tells us they are keeping an eye on the herring situation.. I am not sure if they have hatched or not yet but it sure seemed like it was going to happen any day. I can hardly wait to be on the island when it happens. it has been 20 years since we have been able to see it.. Quite a show of wild life when the sea lions etc. come to feast.

– We asked why the moss was all peeled back from the rocks up behind the garden?  B tells us that the deer tend to peel back the moss in the spring and lick the  rocks, maybe the salt?. He laughed when he said he tries to roll it back in place to save the moss but the deer are persistent. I didn’t get a picture of it but I will when I go back in two weeks.

– Why do they call it Owl Lane?  Presumably it is because we have Owls nesting in the lane. There are turkey vultures at this end of the island, which we were able to see last year for the first time. I was eager to hear that we would be seeing more Owl activity. We may well see more owls down here but it isn’t the reason for the name of the lane. M tells us that there used to be, a long time ago, a tree at the end of the lane that had a nub on each side with two holes in the middle of the trunk which looked like an owl.. hence the name.. the tree is long gone but the name remains. There is also Dead Truck Hill around the pond (yes there is a dead truck buried beneath the hill) and the corner down to the B’s is called Gossip Corner..M suggested I talk to MB. She is a wealth of information on all of the island lore and I look forward to hearing all of her stories.

It seems that we have begun our life on a steep learning curve.