Summer has officially begun…

We prepared for the party, the guests came, we all had a wonderful time (including hiking to Moose Point State Park to admire the diminutive trout lilies and fragrant wild apple blossoms),and by this afternoon everything was cleaned up and we’ve begun planting the flowers that we held back for fear of frost.

Searsport Shores Memorial Day Scavenger Hunt…in 90 minutes you must find:

• Four different kinds of seashells (the kids found periwinkles, dog whelks, blue mussels, steamer clams, hen clams, razor clams, slipper shells, barnacles, sand dollars and sea urchins
• Sea glass in frosted white or blue…must be well cooked
• Two different kinds of sea glass, bonus points if the strand is over 5 years old
• A rock in the shape of your home state
• List 10 different flowers you find in the gardens at the campground
• Draw one of the totem poles carved along the walking trails through the woods or on the beach
• Create a crayon rubbing of two different kinds of leaves and one variety of tree bark.
• A quarter minted in the year of your oldest team member…and the list goes on…

This is Conner. With the friendly competition behind us, he kept the peace all afternoon. But considering the manners of the kids, it wasn’t hard to do.

If you weren’t into scavenger hunting then how about a huge beach bonfire with a trio of players doing Dylan, Elton John, Beatles, Stevie Winwood, Grateful Dead, Stones and a few originals while the sun was setting?

Sir Neeshee and Queen Lollie got a chance to make friends with their first campers this weekend. The Queen wasn’t sure that she liked bicycles and strange dogs but Sir Neeshee thought that all of the attention was simply grand. As icing on the cake, Louie from NH helped Steven build the beginnings of the goat’s climbing palace…more on this later.

When we waved goodbye to the last guests on Monday afternoon, we set to work planting our potatoes (5 varieties), carrots, peas and cucumbers. The other day Steven got the cherry tomatoes into the raised beds and later this summer we’ll be able to offer pick your own organic vegetables. But now we’ll rest a bit…