Summer is here – but maybe someone should tell the Bayville weather.

There have been several Alina Blakesley sightings on Virginia Street as 7-month-old puppy Lucky has been taking her out for nice, long walks and training. Alina's husband, Robert, recently joined the nonagenarian club and still celebrates his membership by cutting his lawn.

The menhaden have made their arrival in Linekin Bay and the fishing boats and seals followed close behind. We all hope there is nothing bigger coming after the seals.

Friday mornings at 10, the pickleball courts come alive with laughs  – and occasional curses – as dinks, drops and cries of "kitchen" fill the air. Visitor Josh from London (via South Africa), may have never seen the sport, but his condor-like wingspan and cat-like reflexes impressed all last week.

Thomas Hultin recruited help launching his boat, Sigrun. The mega yacht is named after his grandmother, so my apologies if I got the Norwegian spelling wrong – and I’m sure I did. Mark Spencer was the first recruited to help and chose a start time of 8 a.m. All (but Mark) were assembled at the assigned hour and the launch was executed flawlessly. Naturally, the omnipresent Phil and Alton (or their clones?) were there to help. All were rewarded with a slice of homemade apple ginger cake that Linda says was all Thomas’s doing.

Naturally, Mark did more than make up for his (and Josh's) 8:07 arrival time transgression by hosting (with Barbara's help of course) another fire pit. Fireballs were nowhere to be seen as Jagermeister made a welcome replacement appearance for those interested. Billy Woods took over the tunes for a bit, but was serenaded with some boos for a playlist that he claims was the result of a "glitch in the system.” Even his sons, Jordan and Graham, joined in the heckling. Whether Billy's wife, Lyn Freundlich, added to the razzing, cannot be confirmed at this time. Mark and Barbara's daughter, Mary Elizabeth, was there too. She and her boyfriend, the aforementioned Josh, were up visiting from Tampa and it was great to see them.

There was also talk of the Country Store and some Aberfeldy drinking glasses Spence had procured there. Later in the evening, Lucy Nielsen told how her family had visited the distillery over in Scotland, got the same type of glasses and brought them to Bayville, where they made their way to the transfer station. Yes, it turns out that one person's country store is another's transfer station. We were promised the glasses were found in their original packaging, but I wouldn't be surprised if people start BTOG.

Lucy is soon headed to Austin, Texas to begin acupuncture classes. Have a great time Lucy! Roommate Sky Wolfram is staying in Portland and has her new place ready to go.

Andrea Nielsen has left for Europe for a couple of weeks to enjoy some hiking in the mountains of Switzerland. We look forward to her stories. Spence certainly has great ones from his 34-day walk in Spain. He had so much fun he is planning another for next year, this time beginning in Portugal. Who knew the Indian Trail here would inspire such adventures!

Bill Allison's arrival to Bayville was smooth and he acted genuinely pleased with what has transpired at Hardscrabble.

The Merrills have been seen plying the waters in their sailboat, no doubt getting ready for some races.