the road side stalker

Picture this a small flock of snowy white egrets on a small quaint fishing dock with the bright morning sun reflecting off their white feathers making the birds appear to glow. Would that not be a beautiful shot? Well that’s the shot I went for this morning but the egrets would not cooperate. They are shy birds and would not let me get with in a 100 feet. I tried twice following them from the fishing dock to a boat dock. I tried to “sneak” up on them at the boat dock but when they saw me they must have thought enough was enough and flew off into the marsh. I must have been a sight to the folks traveling up and down the busy road, a woman dressed in exercise pants and a tee shirt wearing flip flops caring a camera stalking a bunch of birds. But who cares it’s a beautiful day on the Outer Banks and today I don’t have to work so if I want I can stop on the side of the road and stalk birds.

snow day

yard shots

dogs eating snow

snow everywhere but here

In Dare County today is a snow day. Early this morning we got a dusting of snow but with the temperatures in upper 20’s to lower 30’s there will be slick spots on the roads, Dare County has no salt trucks so they did the correct thing and cancelled school. The really bad part of this snow day is that this snow is not the kind of snow you can play in, its wet and there isn’t much of it so the kids will be stuck inside “board” and then they will most likely have to make up the lost day on Saturday. Oh well it is pretty.

The dogs have discovered that they like the taste of snow. Looking out my window I see them grazing on the snow like cows graze on grass, this is funny.

Well folks the lion of March has hit the Outer Banks a few weeks early or is it that winter has finally come a few weeks late. Either way it cold out there, 29 degrees with a wind-chill of 19 degrees. The wind should lie down as the day progress and with low humidity it should be an OK day for quick trips outside.

I have lots to do this next few months my #2 son has moved out again and my #1 son has laid odds that he will be back by summer so I figure I have a few months to get my house back in order. March 15^th is the beginning of planting season here and I’m going to try peas and lettuce (again) so I need to prepare the soil. I bought my first bit guarding “stuff” the other day, composted manure. I have told myself that I would not be spending a lot on the yard this year but I really want to put some more rock around the house and there is a spot under the deck that I want to place a nice wooden swing bench I bought at a yard sale and I have some cool solar lighting ideals……..

I’m glad to hear that the Cheany thing has died down a bit. I’m in NO way republican but it was a hunting accident. 24 hours is not too long for news of a shooting to get out. The patients well being is of first concern then the police have to notified, all hospitals are required to report shootings and dog bites, and the process takes time. Then you have to conceder the patient’s right to privacy. I will admit I did gloat a bit and the comedians had a field day but as Jon Stewart said if the guy died the story would become brechtian

I'm back

black skimmers in flight

a cool calm friday
hot day at the zoo on Saturday

cool choppy day at the beach on Monday
taken from the Naples fishing pier

I’m back. It’s been a whirlwind 2 weeks. I left for Naples Florida a week ago Thursday (the 9^th). In that time I have spent 5 nights and 4 full days in Naples plus a day and a half in various air ports. Before I left and since I have been back I have been working my bummies off, this is the first I have been able to sit down and write!

Naples was nice. For me the weather was almost perfect although it did get kinda hot on Saturday. You could not have asked for nicer people. The people we meant in shops and restraints were friendly in a genuine way, I am told that by the end of the season that changes a little. The beaches there are beautiful. Wide and white and on most days the water has a aqua blue look to it and it just laps at the shore. I did not see any of the pounding waves we have here on the Outer Banks. I did go to the beach on one of the rougher days and saw a few folks try and surf but there really was not a whole lot to surf on. My oldest son would have liked the clear waters for snorkeling but I don’t think any of my guys would have liked the surfing.

Traffic in and around Naples was bad. It took me an hour to travel the 20 miles to the beach but I am told that February is the busiest month and many of the locals stay home. Sounds a lot like the Outer Banks in mid July and August.

I had a good time in Naples thanks to a great friend and her family and I will go back.

Weather on the Outer Banks has been nice and I have been spending any “free” time outside. I love this time of year when its not raining the days are crisp and bright. The air smells of sea salt and the cars and homes get a thin film of sea spray on them even those like mine that are 4 miles fron the ocean. What I like most about this time of year though is that it’s not as crowded. President’s day will bring a little trickle of visitors here but until Easter the Banks are for the “locals”.

Tomorrow I’ll be heading Naples Florida. Leaving the beach for the beach. Hummm.

I am looking forward to seeing a really good friend and I’ve never been to Naples and change is good so I should have a good time.

Where has the time gone? Its Sunday already, Super Bowl Sunday at that. I would say that my family in PA is happy at this point Pittsburgh is up 14 to 3. We are 5 days into February Punxsutawney Phil has forecast 6 more weeks of winter which I guess makes sense seeing how the first day of spring is March 20^th and that’s just a little over 6 weeks from now. I never did trust that rodent’s forecast but I do like the movie “Groundhog Day”. (Damm I’m glad I’m not a foot ball player, Sea Hawk player 86 just got hit hard!) Well anyway things here on the Banks have been good weather wise, this morning was sunny but it was windy and with a temperature of 45 degrees that made it a bit cold but it was good weather to fly a kite. Now you would not find me flying a kite this time of year but the folks in this picture seemed to be having fun.

Well back to the game. Go Pittsburgh!!

Addendum: I have some happy family members, half of them would have been happier if the Eagles had made it to the Super Bowl and one would have liked to have seen the Cowboys there

There be faries

In the US developers sometimes have to work around wild life but in Scotland a land developer had to redesign his development so as not to disturb the fairies that are thought by some local folks to live under a large rock. It happened in November but we in the colonies seem to only just now be hearing about it. faries

The bush speeks

I’m one of those people who gets a lot of her news from places like the “ the Daily Show” and “Wait Wait -- Don't Tell Me!” so I felt that it was my “obligation” to listen to the presidents speech last night. I wanted to hear “it” from the horse’s mouth without any outside influence. It was hard for me to listen to, the man opens his mouth and my blood boils, but I will say this, the speech was relatively short less than an hour and he kept his rhetoric to a minimum. He really did not say anything new. He thankfully said little about foreign issues but he did manage to mention 9-11 less than 5 minutes into the speech. He did mention the need to become less dependent on foreign oil and said he would support research but at the same time he said he wants to lower taxes. The democratic rebuttal was pretty much what you would expect; “we somewhat agree Mr. President but it’s not enough”. The governor of Virginia was not the best speech maker but he did not have a lot of time to practice the rebuttal. All in all if you missed the speech, no great loss it was very typical and uninspired.

Now just a little soap box on the tax issue. Democrats have been called tax and spend liberals and to some extent that may be true but at least they spent money they had. Bush is living like someone with 20 credit cards and a check book that thinks as long as you haven’t meant your limit and you still have checks you can spend. Folks if I spent all I wanted and at the same time worked less I would lose my house my car and everything else I own. Get real. I hate taxes as much as the next person but taxes are going to have to go up or this country is going to go bankrupt.