Notes from Maine - 2025/08/03
We went to the beach this week. Popham Beach (in Phippsburg, Maine) is our favorite. Tuesday had hot temperatures and the tide was low right when the park opened. It was a glorious day. Mom, my sister, and I went early so we would get a spot. The Morse River shifts from year to year, affecting the expanse of the beach. Some years it runs south, giving Popham more room. In 2010 a storm changed the course of the river and it ran parallel to Popham Beach close enough to restrict capacity. This year, that change is back, although the river is not quite as close to the shore. We were warned that the sandbar to Fox Island would be interrupted and getting there would require wading or swimming. We were also warned to be on the lookout for “saturated sand” which is a less panic-inducing way of saying quicksand.
Last year a person sank up to their waist in saturated sand. Or, as the headlines put it, “Earth swallows woman in feet of quicksand during Maine beach walk.” We didn’t experience anything like that.
We swam, waded, and enjoyed the day. We saw three kites, even though they’re not allowed. Years ago we asked a lifeguard who said it was okay and we flew a kite. More recently, signs have told us they’re not allowed from April 1 to September 30, because they scare away nesting birds. I’m not sure why the lifeguards were ignoring the kites last week. We didn’t get a chance to interview any birds, but we saw a gull fly away with an entire bag of potato chips. That particular bird didn’t seem frightenable.
Albert (dog) didn’t get to go on that trip, nor did any of the horses. They’re only allowed on the beach from October 1 to March 31. I’m not sure if Albert would like the ocean. He enjoys the lake well enough, and he did get to visit that a few times this week.
My sister and Mom have been working on the landscaping at the camp. Last year the gazebo was updated to a screened house by my sister. We’re continuing that work by adding some additional trim and conveniences. My grandmother would say, “You spend all your time working on the camp—when will you enjoy it?” The working on it is the enjoyment. Mostly.
I re-plumbed the kitchen sink in the camp for the fifth time. The Cabin Masters installed a junk faucet the first time. More than likely it’s the original junk faucet back from when the camp didn’t really have running water. Long, long ago there was some mechanism to pump lake water up into the sink. That whole strategy was abandoned decades ago, so I wasn’t surprised when that original faucet went bad. I replaced it with the old one from Dad’s house when I upgraded his faucet. That was re-plumbing number one. Then, after having the water tested I found that it was slightly too high in arsenic—completely expected in that neighborhood. All the wells have some amount of arsenic. I installed a filter (re-plumb number two). That first filter wasn’t enough and I replaced it with a reverse-osmosis filter (#3). That filter still left us with one part per billion too many (the EPA limit is 10 ppb and ours tested at 11). The RO filter also didn’t survive the winter although I followed the manufacturer’s procedure for winterizing, so I removed that and we decided we would be bottled-water people at the camp (#4). By the end of last year the replacement faucet was leaking at the handle. It did that at Dad’s house too, but it was getting worse. My sister had an extra faucet so I put that in, which was the fifth time I’ve re-plumbed the kitchen sink in the camp. Fortunately, it’s an easy job although I suppose one could argue that maybe it would be more difficult if I just did it correctly the first time. I should do some research on the best faucet to use in a kitchen that is winterized for 6 months of the year. I wonder if they make specific faucets for RVs. That might be the best place to find a more rugged option. For now, I love the faucet that my sister brought up. It’s a big improvement. I hope it survives.
Bathroom plumbing will be on the agenda in the future. There’s nothing wrong with what the Cabin Masters did, but in order to put a shelf in the closet we need to re-route some of the pipes. The shower drain is also too small. That will be a tough thing to fix. The shower pan is solid rock.
I still hear my grandmother asking when we’re going to enjoy it.
One of these days, when everything that we can think of has been done, maybe we’ll start “enjoying” it!
