This may be a lot about naught.  We are, after all, largely in shutdown mode.  Being retired as we are, we have nothing to complain about, given all the unemployment, health, emotional and psychological tolls, and the myriad of issues young families face.

But if you wanted to be depressed, you’d simply turn on the news.  Here is a glimpse into our summer sequester.

Some of you know we bought a summer cottage on the New Hampshire coast… bigger than our Airstream, but probably smaller than some fifth-wheels or motor coaches.

But the cottage has a lawn and crawl space instead of wheels, as well as the typical joys and pains of home ownership.  One of the joys is having great neighbors!  We have planted some plants, erected a bird feeder and bath, and performed a series of minor indoor and outdoor fixes (deferred maintenance) or improvements.

Meanwhile, our Airstream has pretty much been furloughed for the summer.

Friends of ours, Ken and Helen, gave us a house-warming gift of a tide clock.  Well, this is one of our prized possessions now!  The clock tells you where the tide is (rising or failing) – ingenious!  Love it.

And what self-respecting cottage would be complete without the outside cooking station?  Grill, smoker, lobster pot… I think we have it covered.

We are a short ½ mile walk to the beach, and depending on Dottie’s proclivity for walking, is a daily goal.  Let me just say – this route has some of the best sniffing available – a constant source of olfactory pleasure – for Dottie.  Of course, after such an endeavor she needs to take a break.

Sitting on wetlands, our cottage has (mostly) ever-present sea breezes and cooler temperatures, which have been amazing.  Temperatures at the cottage can be 5-10 degrees cooler than say a mile further inland.  And it is so nice to get whiffs of the sea air.

Our social activities have been, like everyone, limited.  We have gotten together for dinner with friends a few times (outside), we have been to our favorite restaurant Petey’s for seafood (outside picnic table dining), we have done a bunch of biking on our ebikes (these are SO much fun!), and have gotten together weekly with dear friends for a round of golf.  Now you know pretty much what we have done this summer!

Come late afternoon, we tend to sit out on our Adirondack chairs and watch the birds come to feed.  There is nothing like a bird feeder and bath for the gratuitous bird photo opportunity.  The buffet is open.

If you have to sequester yourself, doing so on the New Hampshire coastline, in the summer, is a pretty darn good place to do it.  I’ll post further about our surroundings, but for now, sitting in our Hampton hide-away, stay safe!