Summer Adventures: From Work to Play

Wine & Whiskey
Jul 23
4 min read

Updated: Sep 23

One morning, the yard was soggy. The garlic was still hidden, and the boat was waiting for the lake to drop. The next day, everything burst wide open. The hot sun shone brightly, blueberries ripened, social invites flew in, and our motorhome had a full tank of gas. That’s how summer shows up around here. It doesn’t ease in; it jumps. Just like that, we were off.

Boating Bliss

The lake finally dropped enough to put the windshield back on the boat. This small change turned choppy wind into a gentle breeze. With the Detrich top now attached, we found welcome relief from the hot sun. Boating on those scorching days became surprisingly comfortable. We made time for slow cruises—nothing fancy, just us, Bell, and water stretching in every direction.

Work and Play in Rangeley Lakes

A work assignment took us to the Rangeley Lakes region. We know by now that a "work trip" doesn’t have to mean all work. We stayed at Cupsuptic Lake Campground, which was quiet and well-kept. It offered full hookups and lake access for all guests. After wrapping up our work in Oquossoc, we enjoyed a scenic drive through Dixville Notch on the way to Derby, Vermont, our second work location. That stretch of road never disappoints—beautiful views and country roadsides vignettes the whole trip.

Scenic Stops and Local Delights

Once the work was completed in Derby, we stopped at Shattuck Hill Preservation to take in the scenery. Then, we pulled into our Harvest Hosts stay for the night. With temperatures in the 90s, the electric hookup was a welcome relief to keep the AC going. Even better, the host had fresh eggs and homemade sourdough for sale. We picked up both and enjoyed a quiet, comfortable night before heading home again.

Gardening Adventures

While at home, the garden kept us busy. Blueberry season was productive, even though the bushes are young. The garlic harvest wasn’t great this year. I planted the cloves too early last fall, and the timing just didn’t work out. We only pulled about half of what we were expecting. I’ll adjust for next season and hope for better. Even so, it is still rewarding to harvest what we’ve grown.

Apple Tree Progress

There is one apple growing! This is underwhelming, considering I planted four apple trees last year. I realize it takes a few years for trees to produce, so I'm actually pleased that there is an apple. I hope to harvest it before a critter gets it.

Lavender Blooms

Lavender plants started off looking sad. I thought they were dying, but they were just suffering from the terrible weather. Once the summer sun and heat arrived, the plants got busy growing beautiful flowers. This provided a nice harvest for me to bundle and dry for many uses.

Sourdough Baking

Sourdough baking is still going strong. Lately, I’ve been mixing in fresh herbs from the garden. This adds a savory flavor. It’s satisfying to bake with what’s growing just steps from the kitchen.

Evenings in the Barn Lounge

When it’s not too hot, we’ve been spending evenings in the Barn Lounge. This stretch of summer has been a hot one, so we’ve had fewer nights out there than usual. When we do go, it’s always a relaxing place to spend time. Sometimes we have friends over for an impromptu hangout or a little music. Other times, it’s just a quiet place to sit for a while.

The Busy Month Ahead

Summer starts off slow—then suddenly it’s full speed ahead. One minute you're waiting for things to bloom, and the next, you're flipping the calendar to August. As we head into the last week of July, there’s still plenty going on.

The Annual Boat Show is coming up, and Workboat will be on display again this year. Around the yard, progress on the new shade garden has been slow but steady. It’s a long-term project, but we’re moving in the right direction. One of the best upgrades lately has been a new chipper/shredder. It’s already proven to be a game changer. No more hauling home bags of bark mulch; now we’re making our own as we go.

There’s still a lot of summer left. We plan to make the most of it—one slow cruise, garden project, and Barn Lounge hangout at a time.

Join Us on YouTube

We have videos of each of these trips—including both Maine work runs and our time in Vermont. You can also see the herb sourdough baking process, all up on our YouTube channel. If you haven’t checked it out yet, now’s a good time. We recently passed 3,000 subscribers and are sharing new videos regularly.

We’d love to have you along for the ride. Click here and don’t miss what’s next!

Videos from the month: