We arrived late last night after driving through a wicked thunderstorm around the Portland area but today has dawned with bright sun and relatively clear skies. Good to be back and see the activity starting to pick up in the area. We were here in early June and seemed to be about the only ones around.

Now that the season is starting we should alert you to the dates of our normal activities during the summer. The opening party for the Sprucewold area will be on July 6 at the Lodge from 4 to 6 p.m. Kathy Moulasion is in charge of the gathering, so if you can render some assistance to her, I know that she would appreciate a call from you.

The annual sprucing up of Nahanada Park will be held on July 8 and the rain date will be the 10. This will be orchestrated by Gretchen Murray, the Park chairperson. Many hands make light work as the saying goes so please come armed with your gardening tools. The park committee will provide the mulch to be used after all the weeding and pruning is completed.

Our annual meeting with election of officers for the next two years will be held on August 3 at 1 p.m. at the Lodge. This is an important meeting for the governance of Sprucewold so we would really appreciate your attendance. And if you would like to lend your expertise to the Association, please give me a call.

The ever-popular Rusticators Dinner will be held on August 10 at the Lodge. There are a limited number of seats available for this dinner so when it is advertised, please make your reservations early. This will also allow us to determine if a second sitting is needed. The dinner is a major undertaking, so Kathy Moulaison would appreciate all the volunteer help that is available.

And if you haven’t eaten too much at the dinner, the Cabbage Island Swim will be held on August 11 at 2 p.m. The swim is sponsored by the Beach Club and boats will be available to ferry swimmers from the beach float over to Cabbage for the return swim. Sandy Young has already submitted the required paperwork to the Coast Guard and as long as sequestration doesn’t interfere, the swim should come off without a hitch.

The closing Sprucewold Area Breakfast will be held on September 1 at the Lodge. More details to follow but this is always well attended and is lots of fun.

You’ll note that most of our activities are held at the Sprucewold Lodge thanks to Richard and Dana Pizer who are always so helpful to our Association. They are offering Sunday breakfast during the summer as well as some special dinners as announced so your patronage would be greatly appreciated.

There will be other activities which will be publicized as they approach. I know that Sheila Jaeger will have lots of hiking activities and Curt Nored will be making some announcements on the Firewise chipping program so stay tuned.

We look forward to seeing you all at the opening party.