Island Days

 It’s that time again as we find ourselves in the dog days of summer.  After two long weeks of 90+ humid days here in the Washington, DC area, with excessive heat warnings and a temperature index in the triple digits, plants and people are wilting.  It’s time for a change and this means the annual trip to more northern climes, in our case it’s Monhegan Island, a small four-square mile rocky outcropping some twelve nautical miles off Maine’s mid-coast.

With a permanent population hovering somewhere around 60 – mostly lobstermen and their families and a sprinkling of artists – it is a haven from the hustle and bustle of the mainland.  No cars and only a handful of battered pick-ups used to transport goods and for getting lobster traps down to the wharf come trap day at the beginning of October.  The population increases somewhat come summer when more artists and those like us seeking a quiet place to paint and write arrive to enjoy the island’s rustic ambiance and cooler temperatures. 

So, we are off!  Wishing everyone a restful (and hopefully cooler) summer.  Autumn is not far off.