Six of us met at the head of the harbor on a cold, bright Saturday and walked out toward the old Haskell holdings on Wheeler's Point. The wind was raw and the light was the sort of hard winter light that makes every rooftop look freshly cut.

We finished at the William Haskell House, where the caretaker let us stand in the kitchen and put our hands on the beam. It is a small thing to touch a board, and it is not a small thing at all.