Southport Clean-Up was a great success. When Kit and I arrived about 11:30 a.m., all the locations for people to clean had been chosen; all the first batch of hot dogs had been eaten, and people were on their way to get the task done. We chose Capitol View Drive as our pick-up spot, and soon learned why it was not on the list - from Route 238 to the bridge and back I found only one can. Good job Capitol Island folk, of keeping your area clean. Thanks to all who organized this event, especially the younger Climos, the Mutchs, our head chef, Gerry Gamage, and those local businesses that donated the food. What a perfect day we had for this event, and so good to see the younger generation involved.

Next up for the Southport Island Association is a Mother’s Day lunch for all Southport mothers. Robinson's Wharf and Sweet Dreams bakery have partnered with SIA to prepare you a delicious Mothers Day crab roll lunch. Reservations are needed, so please call 633-3546 by May 5 to reserve a lunch for the mother or grandmother in your life. Then on Saturday, May 7 between noon and 1 p.m. drive into the Southport Town Hall parking lot to pick up your lunch.

We have a new Harbor Master, Tim Maurer, a Southporter who lives near the end of Joppa Road. Many thanks to Jim Gagnon who served in this position for many years, and thanks to Tim for being willing to pick up the responsibilities. Check in with Ashley at the town hall if you need his services or have mooring questions.

Good to see Robinson’s Wharf open again and busy as usual. Let’s keep adhering to Covid protocols so that businesses can remain open, and we can all stay healthy.

Our roads not just on Southport but also into town are marked with a hieroglyphics that I do not understand, but have been told they might indicate how road lines will be repainted. Since covered road signs also will tell us, when they are uncovered, that there is “Road Work Ahead,” perhaps that is the work planned. I am a bit skeptical because to me our road lines seem quite clear. Stay tuned.

Be sure to have on your calendar Wednesday, May 18 at 6 p.m. if you have more questions or want to listen to the progress and discussion about the installation of fiber optics broadband network throughout the island. As published elsewhere in this paper, the Selectmen accepted the $400,000 grant from ConnectME and will continue with the project for now.

We welcome Jane and John Lunt back from a delightful time on the water and in the sun in the Caribbean, back just in time to enjoy the beauty of Southport unfolding in the spring weather. The yellow mounds of forsythia accompanied by the white and pink blossoms of the magnolia, the fields of daffodils, and soon other trees and bushes leafing out and bursting into color, all against the dancing blue of the sea, makes joy visible, although, as many of you know or experience first hand, spring also means work: screens to put up after the windows are washed; gardens to weed and plant, leftover leaves to rake. I hope for you and for me both the color and the labor help mediate the horror of the news from other parts of the world.

As to that news I thank Paul and Carole Zalucky for answering my questions and tutoring me on the history and on the current situation in Ukraine. So good to have people with first hand experience to help unravel the complications and contradictions of international news.