Monday 3d

Snow in mng. 2 in. fell in night,

Cap + Chet were sick + didn’t work. + I had all chores to do.

Herb Dutton buried, 10 A.M.  

Barstow + I washed cistern

Tuesday 4^th

A lovely day.  Cap a little better + Chet worse.

The girls + I filled the cistern, a good job,

Had all the chores to do.  Feel pretty tired to-night but are glad to know that the cistern has been filled at last.

 Monday. April 17. 1899 Button Camp.

A very pleasant day.

Moved the shed nearly into place.  It is a very rotten old affair and it is a wonder it held to-gether as well as it did.

School commenced to-day, and Chet, Bertha, Frances and Lottie all went.  Cass drew manure this P.M. with the new horse Cap brought home from Milton last Friday.  

Yesterday (Sunday) Chet + I took guns and went over to West Point,  we shot at nothing but we saw  lots of game,  Red squirrels, 2 woodchucks that we knew were woodchucks and one that might have been a wild-cat, and ducks and geese by the hundreds.    We went into Barrows’ old cottage, made a fire, cooked some coffee, and had a small sized picnic and got home at 4o’clock, just in season to do chores.         Had a pleasant day of it but felt rather tired and hoped to get to bed early, but Bert Hines and his mother came down and of course there were a pow-wow and as I did not get to sleep as soon as I had hoped to.  

Tuesday 18, 1899

Another pleasant day. Bertha was sick and didn’t go to school.        The rest did.

Cap + I worked on the old shed.      Cass drew manure and plowed some. Drew the dock out of the water.

Bert + his mother + Clara Thayer, were here this evening.  Chet + I put the Bush-whackers outdoors cleaned the crowd out at 10 and glad they are gone.         

Wednesday, April 19, 1899 Button's Camp

Still another pleasant warm day.

Cap + Cass at Hines all day sawing wood.  Now home yet 7.30 PM.  The rest all went to school.

I cleaned up some around the shed and painted outside of scow.

Jim Sumner shot 7 nice pickerel the last two at one shot.  The string was good for 10 lbs. All right.

Helped Barstow put 100 lbs of hams into his smokehouse.

The ice started at noon and this evening the bay this side of the head is all clear.

Steamboat made first trip and Juniper light was up the first time to-night.

Thursday, 20

Cloudy and looks like rain at times all day.

I shingled one side of ice-house with old boards and threw in a lot of saw dust.  The ice has melted a lot and I think 1/5 of it has wasted already.

Cap + Cass sawed wood at Hines and finished + brought power home.

All hands started for light house after supper and Cap + Chet have just got back (8.45) leaving Cass.

First light to-night.

Farnum here this evening.  Brought home "the Blacksmith of Vae"  Liked it very much.  Coon came over to buy Chet's pig.

Friday April 21, 1899 Button's Camp

Looked like rain but didn't rain.

Cap + I drew three loads of hay from Porter's barn on the Point.  800 cubic feet for 2 tons.

Mrs. Button's birthday.  Myrtle made her first cake and it was more than nice.  In evening Bell Goodspeed and Elma + Bert were here and we had quite a celebration.  I gave Mrs. B a present of a shawl.

Saturday 22

Fair mostly, but shower in PM

Cap + I went to W. Point and Law's Island; drew sawdust in bags from hill where Chet got stalled last winter and filled two ice-housed for Stone and Watkins.  Got home to do chores at 6.20 PM

Chet + Myrtle started for Milton this PM.  

Joe Gates shot a pickerel that measured 39 "in" long.

Sunday 23

Warm + Pleasant

Chet came home from Milton at 11.30 AM and after dinner he + Cap + I fixed pins in scow + put her in water and started for mud cove.  Cap got out there + went to point on foot + took boat for light house.  He got home about 9 PM.

Chet and I hunted fish + woodchucks.  He shot one and I left him at this edge of swamp + I pulled boat home.  He shot at a pickerel but missed him.

Cap wants me to go to station to-morrow for a short time.  I don't want to go but I will.

Monday April 24, 1899  Colchester Reef Light House

8 PM  After doing chores and eating breakfast I started in my boat at 6.20 and reached here at 8 AM.  There was no wind and has been none all day.  I saw a pickerel about 15 in. long about 4 in. below surface of water with a lamprey eel hanging on him.  I struck him with an oar before I remembered that I had a gun and could have shot them and of course I saw no more of them.

About a dozen loons were within a mile of here and all laughing like fun because I had got back here I suppose.  I shot at on at 6 PM but of course I missed.  they have been around all day.  

Lots of flood-wood floating + I pulled in a [?] and several nice pieces of boards.

Cass was here and feeling well and had captured a engine bbl and a 20 ft pile.  He took the pile and other lumber home with him.

I expected to find everything ready for me to go to painting but I found no brush fit to use and no turp to thin paint so I haven't painted any.

The stove was chock full of ashes and I had a job to clean it out.

I brought over some onions, turnips, cabbage, Graham four 1/2 doz. eggs, sweet + sour milk and with what was already here I think I can stand a siege for a week or ten days comfortably well.

Finished reading "Silas Marner" by George Elliott and will finish "Edrie's Legacy" next.

This has been a lovely day, but awful lonesome somehow.

----------------

Weather Report

very light breeze NW sprung up for 7 PM for a few minutes only.   Clear + Cool.  Full Moon.

Tuesday April 25 Colchester Reef Light

7 AM  Clear and pleasant, no wind

8.30 "   Clouded all over.  Hazy, light S. wind

5.30  PM  Tug J. G. Weatherbee, with 7 tows passed on west side going S to Burlington.

Sun shining for a little while now.

10 PM  Wind shifted to N. Light.  Foggy also.

The day has passed without special event.  Haven't felt first rate, but took down curtains in one chamber and commenced a general cleaning up of the sitting room downstairs, washing the wood-work + mopping floor +c.  Baked a loaf of some kind of bread.  I don't know what it was but I guess it was eatable.

Loons have been shy to-day.

Finished reading "Edric's Legacy"  by Mrs. Georgie Sheldon, found it quite interesting.

Weather Report

Damp, cloudy, Wind Light S, Shifted to N in evening + foggy.

Wednesday 26

Clear and warm.

Finished cleaning sitting room and commenced on one of the chambers.

Fell through the tower scuttle hole and hurt my arm and back this mng so I haven't felt like working very hard.

At noon I sighted what at first looked like a stock of corn coming this way off Sugar-bush but it soon came near enough for me to see that it was a fine launch.  It rounded the W. Point and ran around to So. Beach and anchored off Porters Hotel for about 20 m.  and then headed for Burlington.  At 5 PM it come back.

 Towing one or two piles. I think it left them at Law’s Island at increased speed.

A two master went N. this P.M. around Law’s Island and thence to the east. This A.M. quite a number of loons were around here and three or four times I got my gun ready expecting a chance to shoot but none offered.

Quite a flock of gulls have been around several times. Once they settled on several pieces of floating boards a little way from here and had a great sail.

I saw two or three loons fly today, so that I share hereafter know a loon when 9 saw him in the air as well as in the water. I also saw one start and fly along through and on the water a quarter of a mile and he made a great splashing. He was quite neat him when he started.

One of the iron ladders moves with the wind and the waves and croaks and groans quite often.

My big clock won’t run but the little alarm and the cottage clock both keep in motion but not very steadily. However my watch and the whistles regulates them so that I got along very nicely.

Weather Report

Clear, very light N. and N.E. wind

Thursday April 27 1899 Colchester light reef.

Another pleasant day

Loons by the dozen and gulls by the hundred flying and screaming all day.

Nothing special today.

Finished cleaning and mopping chamber. Cass came this evening with potatoes, beans. Pork, butter, lard, milk, turpentine, and fish (perch).

It was dark when he got home nearly, and I had given up all hopes of seeing anyone tonight.            I was more then glad to see him for somehow I felt unusually lonesome the time for I was sick Monday night and most all day Tuesday and Wed I fell and hurt my arm side and back.

Weather

Very clear wind light N+NW.

  Friday 28

9:30P.M.            Pleasant but breezy all day.

Cass staid with me last night, quite a fresh S wind when he left about 5:30 this morning. Painted inside of tower, quite a job.

Supper at 9 Pork + tater + fried egg + graham gems.

Cass brought me a nice string of perch. Had some for breakfast. Will have some again in morning. He says Cap will be over to stay here Sunday, so I am hoping to get away tomorrow P.M. sometime, if not too windy.

The perch are already coming into the bay now I want to be there more than ever. Confound the luck.

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