halloween 2005

Tonight I was visited by 2 ghosts the Grim Reaper, a solder, a bumble bee, Robin, Darth Vader, Cat Woman, 2 vampires, 2 witches, a princes, a boxer, a lion, a bunch of young teenagers dressed as teenagers (the scariest costumes by far), Buzz Light-year, Spider Man, a GREAT dragon, a pumpkin, a few pirates and two power rangers.

Halloween is a holiday that started out as the Celtic festival Samhain which dealt with the dead. After the Celts were conquered by Rome Samhain blended with the Roman festivals Feralia, commemorating the dead, and one that honored Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. With the rise of Christianity the festival of the dead became all saints day from wince the name All-hallows (all saints) and All-hallows eve and with time Halloween.

In the United States on Halloween we send our children to stranger’s houses with instructions to threaten these stranger’s by saying “trick or treat”, implying that if no treat is given a trick will be played. Now the pumpkin in the stroller doesn’t seem to be much threat but the grim reaper and the teenagers dressed as teenagers would cause anyone to think twice about holding back. I dutifully handed out my treats, making sure I addressed each and ever costume and I enjoyed every minute of it. I hope I appeased the trick or treaters and find no eggs on my house and no toilet paper in my trees. I cant wait for next year

daylight saving time, day two

Daylight Saving Time was first suggested by Benjamin Franklin in 1784, in an essay, "An Economical Project." The idea was first advocated seriously by London builder William Willett (1857-1915) in the pamphlet, “Waste of Daylight” (1907). Daylight Saving Time has been used in the U.S. and in many European countries since World War I. It was adopted at that time to conserve fuel needed to produce electric power. Today we continue the practice of adjusting our clocks to the season and I guess with the cost of fuel these days it continues to “make sense” but as I laid in my bed at 4am looking at the red display on my alarm clock it did not seem like that great an ideal. It will be a month before I shake off the early morning awakening. The dogs are oblivious to the change. Their noses were on the side of my bed as soon as they heard me stir. The girl dog, Trip whimpered for her morning meal at what is her normal time to eat, 20 minutes after I awake. It’s hard to tell her that it’s now 5am not 6am. Well I’m off to continue my day. I will purposefully stay awake longer tonight and allow myself no naps during the day. By April my internal clock will be firmly set to Eastern Standard Time.

Afternoon looking towards Nags Head

nice end to a nice day

outer banks fall

Yesterday was wet and cool. I had to wear shoes and a light jacket; no long paints till I have no other choice!! I love this type of weather. To me it is so much more interesting than a sunny calm day. There is no way to photograph the layers of clouds as they move independently of each other, or the feel of a biting wind and tiny drops of rain as it hits the skin. It’s just so invigorating!

I took photos of folks fishing from a bridge on the causeway to Manteo. They were bundled against the elements but they were out there. Weather does not stop a determined sportsperson!!

Today the wind is to continue but the sun will be out. That old sun completely changes the ambiance.

hitting the floor running

This past few weeks has given me a full understanding of the term hitting the floor running. This is the first time in some time that I have had more than a very few moments to sit down and write. Mom had her bypass surgery this past Wednesday and with pre-op testing and surprise last minute Dr. appointments she has kept me busy. As of 5am today she was doing very well.
I have also been busy helping my Albanian neighbor prepare to move. Although she speaks very good English some folks have difficulty understanding her and she still has difficulty with some of the nuances of the English language so she is dependent on her friends to help her not get taken advantage of. Of course this is not the first friend I helped move in the past few weeks, some dear friends and neighbors of mine left for Texas the end of last month. I will dearly miss all my friends. The holidays will not be the same, we spent them together like family. Well the sun is coming up and I’m off to help a friend pack. It’s amazing how much you can get into a U-Haul

how many photos can I post at a time

lets stop at 6

this last month

*A lot has happened in the last month. There have been 3 hurricanes, Katrina and Rita affected people in my family and Ophelia brushed the area I live in. Gas went from $2.19 a gallon to $3.29 a gallon and back down to $2.89. (Oil company profits by the way don’t seem to have been affected in a negative way by the storms). The Supreme Court justice died and a new one was confirmed in his place. President Bush apologized for something (!!). My mother was found to have blocked coronary arteries and scheduled to have a 5 vessel bypass, and just to add a little sunshine, my youngest son advanced from a yellow belt in tae-kwon-do to a yellow with 2 green stripes belt. So I took a 3 day trip to the mountains.

bunnies and apples

A rabbit greated me at my camper and the apples made me want to make pie!

*This Wednesday I escaped the Outer Banks and went to the VA mountains. I spent Thursday in Floyd enjoying the company of friends. We had a long lunch at the natural food store after which we strolled the building looking at the work of local artists. Then we drove around the country side. Friday morning before I left for home I strolled the road from my friend’s home to my camper taking in the beauty of the area. Sometimes just a brief change of scenery is all it takes to clear the head.

Geese

*Its fall here on the Outer Banks, the air is cool in the morning, the call of geese and their V formation are sure sign of a change in the seasons. Looking up one can see northern geese that are flying south, they stop in our marshes and water ways to rest and feed. They will be joined by other types of migrating birds as the season progresses. The Outer Banks is an important stop for these travelers.

In the fall the air becomes more still, and as the summer populations (human and nonhuman) departs there is a return to quiet, as the fall progresses into winter this quiet will become deeper to the point where sometime in February we on the Outer Banks start looking forward to the return of the noise but for now the quiet is welcome

the beach on the sound side during Ophelia 

The sound during Ophelia, this is the barrier Islands at work. While its victory at sea on the ocean side the sound is relatively calm

 

again the ocean 

the ocean thanks to Ophelia 

the flowers love the storm 

my street 

Well its been awhile, been caught up in the everyday activities that seem to never end but hurricane Ophelia brings me back to the word processor.

Things in Kill Devil Hills aren�t that bad. Take a look at the Weather Channel and check out Jim Cantory. I am located on the part of the Outer Banks he is covering. The weather we are getting at this time is no worse than a winter storm. Once the storm gets a little further up the coast we should start seeing a little more wind and rain and possible some flooding. I do feel for the folks south of me, they are getting pounded.

 

A photo can say much. It can say that it's a nice day with a few pinkish-purple clouds on the horizon. What a picture can't tell you is how the wind feels on my skin or how the rustling trees or the singing birds sound, it can't express the smell of the air. Today is a beautiful Labor day on the Outer Banks. Today is the first day of the fall season. The visitors will be thinning out, the traffic will become less hectic, the temperature more tolerable. Labor day marks the beginning of my favorite time of year on the Outer Banks.

This has been one hell of a week. Katrina hitting the gulf coast hit close to home with me, luckily my siblings evacuated the areas they lived in and all are safe.

*My brother and his wife are unsure of the state of their property they live in Jefferson parish just south of New Orleans and own a camp near Myrtle Grove, La. They have no ideal what is going on near their home, there have been mixed reports, it’s either there or not they won’t know until they are able to get back. The house in Myrtle Grove is most likely gone. They may have very little left of 25 years of hard work. These people are the American dream. My brother came from a dirt poor family and his wife came from a middle class family. He is an electrician and she is a hair stylist. No one gave them anything, their family’s could not afford too, everything they had they worked for. I feel bad for them and wish them the best.

My sisters are fine. My sister who lived in Biloxi had only just move there and owned no property she will be fine. I don’t think she knows where she is going but she has always been a roamer at heart. My sister in Pensacola had no damage at all.

Because of the hurricane I’m having trouble getting in touch with folks down there, as I have said in e-mails call me if your hear anything and I will be in touch if I hear anything!

*I’ve been trying not to comment on the behavior of some of the folks who live in NO. I will say this much: there is no way when something like this happens that emergency folks or the government can be expected to be there the next hour or the next day. I live on the coast and the powers that be clearly say that if you stay you must accept responsibility for yourself and your family. It is understood that EMS will not go into an unsafe environment. It is understood that it may be days before you can expect food and water deliveries. I saw one comment from FEMA that said they did not expect the lawlessness that transpired in New Orleans. People, no matter how poor, have to accept responsibility for their actions. I hope the folks that were seen looting TV’s and jewelry are arrested. There is a law down there that says you can’t do that! I hope we all learn from this. My god it’s the “War of the Worlds” movie in real life!! Well that’s my soap box and I’m getting off of it now.

* Another piece of bad news Chief Justice William Rehnquist has died. I was rooting for him. He will be missed.

I heard from my sister-in-law last night, she and my brother are fine. They are in Mississippi, have no electricity and no supplies but thanks to a friend they have a roof over their heads and thanks to perfect strangers something to eat. They were starved for information about what was going on near where they lived and thanks to technology I was able to look up what was available on the internet and relay the information to her over the phone. It will be a while before they are able to return home. My sister-in-law said if all is gone they won’t be staying. After 25 years in the New Orleans area the storms may have won.

I have heard from two of my three siblings who live along the gulf coast. Both are safe. My brother and his wife have still to check in. I’m confident they are safe but are not able to call due to loss of service. I feel for them and their neighbors. They live in Jefferson parish on the west bank. I only hope the news I see out of New Orleans is true and that their home is one of the “dry” ones.