With cool and sunny weather like we’ve had for many of the days of this past week, it’s easy to keep the windows open, to sit on the porch or the dock, or to lounge for whole afternoons at the Sprucewold Beach, all the while taking in the sights and sounds of our beautiful Linekin Bay. Today’s winds are gusty and the boats from the Linekin Bay Resort tack noisily, sails flapping. Our red canoe sits at the mooring of our Turnabout, “Why Not?” as various family members take a turn sailing. Seagulls and ospreys scream, and the noisy oaks along the shore sound almost like light rain falling, as their leaves rustle in the breeze.

A recent Sprucewold highlight was the annual Rusticators’ Dinner, held on Saturday evening, August 10 at the Sprucewold Lodge. Dana and Richard Pizer, Lodge owners, put on a fabulous lobster bake, complete with outstanding clam chowder and a blueberry crumble. Families gathered on the porch for visiting and a drink before choosing spots at tables inside. A treat as always, the event was organized by the Association’s social chair, Kathy Moulaison, and Kathy’s right-hand-woman was Elaine Rittershaus.

Sprucewolders continue to work on maintaining and improving the whole area, and this week we had the benefit of both a local fire training exercise by the Boothbay Harbor Fire Department and a “chipping” day, sponsored by The Maine Forest Service’s “Fuel Reduction Chipping Program." That program, according to Wally Moulaison, editor of the always interesting and informative Sprucewold Blog, “is supported by federal funds and has been successful in helping communities reduce the risk of wildfire near their homes.” Curt Norrad has been responsible over a number of years for getting this effort up and running on an annual basis, and he deserves our thanks as he hands over his position to another Sprucewold neighbor, Greg Muzzy. The fire training exercise, organized via a conversation between Sprucewolder Jim Powers and Fire Chief Nick Upham, involved trucks connecting to the hydrant at the bottom of Crest and Lobster Cove, running a line up to the Lodge and down Nahanada, and having trucks respond as if they were in the area for an actual fire. I know the community is grateful to the Sprucewold Association for encouraging all such activities.

The big event of the summer still ahead as I write is the Cabbage Island Swim, but it will be history before this column is published. The water (as well as the weather) has been more “typical Maine” recently, a fact that some of us delight in as we experience the electric cold of wading deeper in at the beach or jumping off one of the docks along the shore. Still, events ending and cooler days and nights becoming the norm remind us that soon little beach-goers and sailors will return to school and their parents to work, even as a number of us stay on to enjoy some quieter days ahead.

Aren’t we all so lucky to have found our various ways to these great Sprucewold summers!