As I am sitting down at the computer to put some thoughts together for a column, I can’t help but think about the wind outside. I do not think I have ever in my life experienced wind like I experience here at the house in Tiverton. Weather, in general, actually. Wind seems a lot stronger, rain seems a lot heavier, and lightning, especially, seems to be a lot closer and the thunder louder. I do not know what the wind is blowing right now, because my weather station is on the fritz. But I can tell you, it’s strong. Online it says the wind is gusting over 30 miles per hour in our area, and that …

Something funny happened to me the other day. My youngest son and I were at Sakonnet Veterinary Hospital to pick up our pet after a small procedure. The receptionist asked for my name, and I said “Wolstenholme,” and she replied, “you’re here to pick up your kitty.” And I said, “now there’s two things I never thought I’d hear together  in the same sentence.” Everyone chuckled. You see, I’ve always been a dog guy. I’ve never liked cats; in fact, I dare say I’ve always hated cats. But this saga started a few months back, when my oldest son said, “I want a pet.” We’ve gone the pet route before, …

On Monday morning I went outside to get the cars ready for everyone to leave and to put out the barrels, and boy, did I need gloves! Somehow I lost one of the heavy gloves I had been wearing at the beginning of the winter, so when I’ve been out plowing or shoveling, I have been wearing a spare pair of thinner gloves I keep in the truck. I always try, especially when bad weather is forecast, to keep a backpack filled with spare clothes, a towel, gloves, hat, etc. in the truck. I also try to take a similar bag with me when I am out in the boat, with, of course, the appropriate gear for the …

Representatives of the Tiverton marine business community put their best foot forward last weekend as the first boat show of the year got underway at the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence. With boats all shined up and displays filled with the latest in marine equipment, they were ready for the customers. And the good news is, this year the customers came. According to show manager Nancy Piffard, although Thursday’s attendance was unchanged from last year’s show, Friday’s attendance was up ten percent and on early-Saturday evening, although firm numbers were not yet in for the day, …

It’s boat show season in New England, a time of anticipation and hope for many people. For the boater, it’s anticipation to get to the show and see all the new products—like Christmas morning all over again! It also makes you feel a little better about the snow outside when you are warm inside looking at all the sparkling fiberglass, shiny chrome, glistening woodwork, eye-catching fishing gear and accessories and state-of-the-art electronics. For the vendor, it’s also a time of anticipation, anticipation of what the show is going to do for your business, what customers you will meet at the …

There are many changes taking place in and around our local waterways. First and foremost, there is an extremely large project right in front of us called the new Sakonnet River Bridge. No doubt you have heard or have felt the pounding of the pilings being driven into the ground and have seen the disruption on Evans Avenue, Riverside Drive and in the Tiverton Basin. But have you seen the size of those big girder-type structures, which have been parked on the side of the highway and down around the waterfront? That is one massive project, especially looking up at what is above you and …

I don't think, in my family, there were any traditions for the holidays, per se. I remember making pomander balls with my mother when I was younger. We must have made several dozen at the time, because she was a school teacher and used to give them to her students at the holidays (and she had large classes in those days, one in the morning, one in the afternoon). I don't remember the spices she used, because I was just the kid who stuck all the whole cloves into the oranges—and there were thousands of cloves. Recipes I have found online suggest that she might have coated them with a mixture …

This has been a particularly emotional and interesting year. Not only have my wife and I experienced the bittersweet move to middle school for my little one (Wait? Can I call him a little one anymore?) we also had the arduous period of the driver's license training and test, and the freedom that has brought to my oldest son; plus, now, the senior year in high school. Seems like just yesterday I could hold him in one hand. So when I was asked to reflect in this column on some of my more memorable times on the Sakonnet River and Mount Hope and Narragansett Bays, a couple came to mind right …

This time of year always makes me think…about the season that just passed as I watch the harbor clear of boats day by day, and about the long winter to come, when snow will replace the warm summer sun, and we will be surfing and sliding on the icy streets instead of the breaking waves. Today I stopped by the local fireplace shop, as I miss the fall days sitting in the cabin of my sailboat with the wood stove providing warmth and keeping the pot of coffee warm as I would fiddle with a small project or read a book. For many years, I was keeping a log of the season's hardest learned lesson and …