Shelter Island - Day 4

I am writing this blog sat outside at 9.30pm and it is similar to being in the tropics, both with the heat and the background noise of insects, I think that they are crickets or something similar. That probably shows my ignorance of nature, however even the cornucopia of creatures around the house has impressed me.

I usually take a stroll in the early evening. Despite there being several houses around here I saw five dears on my walk tonight. Interestingly they must have become used to living amongst humans, as they do not run off as quickly as in the UK. You can see below the close up in the photo that I took.

After observing this solitary dear a whole family strolled across the road in front of me. You will also see a little rabbit that simply stopped in front of me.

While we were sat eating breakfast a large bird swooped on a small animal and carried it off across the lake. We have also observed some beautiful rusty red birds flyng by the house. Added to that are the echelons of Canada Geese that regularly pass over the house.

So even for us nature ignoramuses it is an impressive roll call of species.

I mentioned the weather, it is getting very humid, I think that it is building to a serious thunderstorm; indeed the forecast suggests that for tomorrow. So we are planning to do a little shopping tomorrow, primarily for some winter clothes as the retailers here offer such good value and quality.

We have already done some wine and beer shopping to share with our friends at the weekend. There is considerable local good quality wine production of both white and red wines. The winery that we visited was certainly producing excellent full flavoured and distinct. There is also a local microbrewery whose wares we will be sampling. When you add this to the large number of farm stands the area is quite a find for foodies. Tonight we ate some beautifully full flavoured tomatoes bought straight from the farm.

So in all respects nature is her pomp here.

Shelter Island – Day 3

Today has been super hot and humid, it feels as though we are building for a thunderstorm. First of all apologies for the quality of yesterday’s blog, I think that it was twofold; I started too late and was feeling the effect of jet lag. Shelter Island is now much quieter, the houses around us have been shuttered and the owners have returned to the city. It is easy to park and when we caught the ferry this morning there was no queue.

Shelter Island is an atypical version of small town America. It is not ethnically diverse and the median income must be quite high. I have been reading the Shelter Island Reporter, which is the sort of paper that might feature on Have I got News for You. Lead story, the third plane crash of the summer at the local airstrip, all involving pilots over the age of eighty, well nobody was able to say that they were not experienced. What I could not understand was that the latest crash involved a two-seater plane and the pilot was criticised for taking a passenger, surely that is what the second seat is for!!! Other than that the crime page was revealing, there was the case of the fisherman taking clams out of season, children under the age of 12 not wearing lifejackets on the water, you get the picture. The political issue was the quality of the water in the local pond, somebody had taken a bottle to the council meeting and challenged the councillors to drink it. Political theatre the paper screamed, while it remained unclear whether the water was drunk or merely put to the lips. I suppose that is similar to inhale or not inhale.

When we went out for dinner yesterday we had to wait at the bar and had a shocking conversation, by European standards. There was the inevitable picture of Donald Trump on the TV, the guy next to us then eulogised him saying and I quote “at least you know when he is blowing smoke up your ass”. To us this is an anathema, Donald Trump makes David Cameron seem a principled hardworking politician. How on earth is he a serious candidate, while I suppose we said that about Ronald Reagan and look what happened there. I shall leave it to our friends Karin and Rob to explain that to us, and why by 2020 we might see Prime Minister Corbyn meeting President Sanders.

For lighter relief here is a photo taken from the North Ferry this afternoon.

Shelter Island – Day 2 (The Exodus)

Today was the last day of the Labor Day long weekend here. It brought forth an exodus as the weekend residents of Shelter Island returned to the city. The line for the ferry off the island needed the police to control it, while overhead there has been the constant drone of helicopters heading south towards New York. Tonight we can only see half the number of lights from the verandah of the house. From our perspective it should mean that things are quieter from now on.

The weather continues to be very good, so because of the exodus above we have had a quiet day. A little more exploring of the island, a lunch at the marina, and relaxing on the verandah have been the order of the day. Tomorrow the real exploring will start!!

Shelter Island – Day 1

Yesterday we were in Scarborough that was enjoying, if that is the correct word, some appalling end of summer weather. Today we have been relaxing on Shelter Island at the northern tip of Long Island, in 80 degree sunshine.

We had briefly come across Shelter Island during a road trip in the Eastern US last year. Then at the back end of September we had enjoyed sitting on a deserted beach, munching a sandwich and watching the world go by. It so took our fancy that we have rented a house for two weeks, it was a calculated gamble as it was direct with the owner rather than through an agency as we use when we travel to France.

It turned out to be as idyllic as we had hoped. There is a lovely shaded porch overlooking and creek on which we have sat for most of the day. The house is well equipped and very comfortable so that we can fulfil our ambition of relaxing and reading. I have included a photo of Marion doing just that.

 The island itself has a huge number of vacation houses and weekend homes. It is only 80 miles from New York so I guess it is popular with people escaping the heat of the city at this time of the year. It is less trendy that the Hamptons and has a more down to earth feel. The only way on or off is by ferry making it seem beautifully isolated.

We do like the relaxed pace of life here, yet one that has the convenience of being able to purchase a good coffee easily.

As this weekend is Labor Day weekend everything is fairly busy, however we expect things to quieten down on Tuesday when the schools return. Then we may get out and do some exploring. Meanwhile it seems about as far from Scarborough as you can be.

Nine reasons why retired people need more holidays

Tomorrow we are off on our autumn holiday, this set me thinking as to why now we are retired, and we holiday more.

#1 I have more time and can be more flexible. No longer am I constrained by holiday quotas and fitting round colleagues.

#2 Valuable holiday time does not have to be devoted to decorating, or horror of horrors Christmas shopping.

#3 I am busy in my daily life so it is great to be able to switch off and catch-up with reading and of course blogging.

#4 I am getting older so I need more rest and relaxation.

#5 As I get older I get more inquisitive about different environments and cultures. At the same time I want to revisit favourite destinations.

#6 I am aware that in a few years I may not wish to travel so need to have my adventures now.

#7 It is what I spent all those years working for. There has to be an upside to some of those interminable meetings.

#8 Holidays are better value outside of the school holidays, so I can travel more for less.

#9 With more time I can spend more time immersing myself in local cultures. It is no longer travel stay, move on etc.

So it is time to holiday, read my blog for regular updates.