On the Fourth

 The Fourth of July activities continued to their high mark in the island on the fourth itself.

Activities started with the big sand sculpture contest on the beach in the morning.  There were categories for ages, individuals, and groups.  With dozens of entries, the overall winner was Poor Unfortunate Shoals! 

The day moved on to the parade in the afternoon.  This year’s parade was excellent with more than the usual number of entries.  The only rules were no politics and no water throwing!  Everyone appreciated that.  There was, however, lots of candy throwing along the way. 

We decided that we needed to be in the parade, so, we decorated the Jeep and, in addition to candy, we threw out rubber ducks!  What fun!

The winner in the float division was Ocracoke United Methodist Church.  This year, as the USA is 248 years old, the Church is 81 years old.  

We ended the day with a fundraising cookout at the church.  This Sunday is the first Sunday at the church for our new minister, Desiree Adam.  Everyone is excited for her!

Ocracoke July 4

 July 4 is a very important holiday here on the island.  There are celebrations spread out over three full days for the holiday.  This is a very busy week with every accommodation on the island full and a large number of people coming over for day trips.  It is a huge celebration.

Last night things started with fireworks.

The evening started with music at the harbor side leading up to the big show at nine fifteen.  People brought chairs and blankets and a huge crowd joined in the fun.

By having our fireworks show earlier than the Fourth itself, we get a better price and a longer show to book.  Besides that, many tourists come over from Hatteras and the rest of the Outer Banks for the show and our whole economy benefits.  It is also the beginning of our whole celebration.

Today continued with a fund raising dinner at our new Community Gardens that lasted all afternoon.  Just across the street from the Gardens, I did a book signing at Books to Be Red for my newest book, HOW THEY LINGER.  We had lots of fun.

Tonight there is a traditional square dance at the Berkley Center, but, we are off to bed to rest up for everything tomorrow.  

Happy Fourth to You!

Summertime!

 Trish and I are now at home for our longest stretch of time all year.  We have finished our June storytelling workshops and now have delicious days of rest and recouperation.

What do we do on these days?  Each day we try to take our lunch in the Jeep and drive out to picnic on the beach.  Our 16 mile National Park beach starts less than a mile from our house.  We stay there and read a little while after lunch…not too long since we can come back the next day.

Back at our house we tend and enjoy all of our flower gardens.  The most fun this time of year is being able to take flower arrangements to the various people who care for us around the village.  Many people don’t believe you can grow flowers here…you just have to believe that you can!

When the weather keeps us indoors, Trish and I each have our projects.  She is always sewing and making all sorts of wonderfully creative things.  I write a little bit each day and work on my model ship building.

Right now I am working on a typical pirate ship from about 1700.

We have so many projects that we will never catch up, let alone finish!

Home With the Flowers!

 Last winter Trish and I totally reconfigured our yard.  We have  pretty large yard space for the island, so, we decided to take advantage of that for more beauty.

First there was sawing and screwing treated lumber to build sixteen new raised beds.  Then there was the whole dump truck load of mainland topsoil that traveled by wheelbarrow to fill all the beds.  After that there was a lot of lobster/crab (from Maine) compost to season the soil.  Finally there was planting and feeding and watering.

Now the enjoyment has arrived!

Two beds that are mostly in the shade give us the chance to grow things that like to avoid too much sun.

Now the full sun beds come into play.  Some of these were filled with bulbs in the springtime, but now they enjoy the good sum of summer.

We want to be sure that we have plenty to cut for inside as well as outdoors.

In the back of this photo is a total bed of mixed sunflowers.  They are getting their heads and should really pop open in the coming week.

This project has been so much fun and each year will be easier after this first one.

Back at The Swag

 Trish and I are back at The Swag, The Great Country Inn of the Smokies for another week where we are Experts in Residence two or three weeks a year.

When we were here at the end of March, there were no leaves on the trees and nothing was blooming yet. Now, here at 5,000 feet elevation, everything seems to be bursting into colorful bloom.

What we do here is that I tell stories about growing up in these mountains each afternoon at five o’clock before appetizers and dinner.  Then in the mornings Trish and I lead hikes together where we can talk about wildflowers, trees, animals, everything we see along our way.

All around the buildings here there are brilliant Catawba Rhododendrons in full bloom. They are accompanied by wonderfully fragrant lilacs.

We are right against the Great Smoky Mountains National Park here, so, when we go out walking we are partly on Swag property and partly on Park property.  There is an abundance of early wildflowers wherever we wander. 

One of the most prolific tiny flowers at this time of year are the Thyme Leafed Bluets.  Look past the blooms and notice their foliage and you will see from where their specific name comes.

And of course there are mushrooms galore!

We will be here until Sunday and be on the lookout for new discoveries each day.

Iris Time!

 Every time Trish and I get home this time of year we find new surprises!  This time it was the beginning of Iris season.  The first one we saw was already being admired by two visitors.  The little green frogs live everywhere. They sing to us at night and eat lots of mosquitos. We love them and are happy to share flowers with them.  The bumblebee is one of our appreciated pollinators. We welcome them anytime!

Other colors are right behind.  Many of these bearded ones are reblooming and will come out again in the fall.

Over in the next bed the Siberian Irises are just beginning.  They offer a different take on the Iris family.

A big surprise was just a round the corner from the bearded Irises.  It was our first Oriental Poppy!  Before the week was over there were really beginning to pop.  It is their first year and we didn’t know what we might get. What a lovely surprise!

 

Finishing Our Disney Visit

 When Trish and I come to Walt Disney World, this is how we plan our days:  this is an eight day visit, so, we give three days to Epcot, three days to the Magic Kingdom, one day to Animal Kingdom, and one day split between Hollywood Studios and Disney Springs.  This is totally subjective based on the things we like to do and the places we like to eat.

The best thing about the Magic Kingdom is getting to ride all the rides without kids in tow!  We do get the Lightening Lane passes and with them, plus experience, we can get in 13 to 15 rides an about ten hours.

At Animal Kingdom it is pretty easy to cover everything we like in a half-day and get back to things like the Safari ride for a second turn.  The animals are so healthy and wonderful to see!  This year the day was cool and they were all out for us to enjoy.

Hollywood Studios is not a favorite of ours since we don’t go for the virtual reality rides…be both get car sick…but we go there to see the Muppets!  

Back at Epcot, the Flower Festival was the outstanding thing of this entire trip.  They were endless, colorful, creative, and just beautiful!  What good ideas I got from being here!

And, oh yes, there were fireworks!