Oriental, Sailing Capital of NC

Oriental, Sailing Capital of NC

Greetings from the Neuse River

Life here along the banks of the Neuse River, overlooking close to four miles of water, is a sharp contrast to living in a city. Most months, it is idyllic; then, there are the months that remind you that Mother Nature is definitely in charge.

This neighborhood of houses face the Neuse River and backs up to several acres of farmland -- most years, soybean --- then thick tracts of pine forests to the main road.

I love to watch the sea gulls, sometimes the pelicans, and cormorants or egrets and the occasional eagle or osprey. The cute visitors are "chickens" that my neighbor called me about photographing who were grazing in her yard. Even at 100 feet away, they were skittish and flew to the further neighbor's yard but just enough for me to photograph them for identification. These "chickens" turned out to be cattle egrets. The flock numbered about thirty -- by the river bank...not sure why they picked her yard.

I suppose you could say this blog is an occasional picture-book of life in Pamlico County or whatever comes to mind at the time.

Saturday, June 2, 2012

COLLARD FLOWERS

Most of us..think only of collards...only as those greens that most rural folks eat with...fatback...maybe.
Well...myself included...up until this Spring. We happen to like collards - so we fit right here -- in these rural surroundings. And so our garden had a few of these greens in early Spring. The plants grew enormous..with little help...Frederick, as they might say -- "take spells" at most things -- the garden being one of them. And these bright yellow flowers were downright pretty. I cut some and put them in a vase and they also lasted a long time. So --- even if you don't like collards -- you might think about growing it for the flowers -- and feed the leaves to a hungry rabbit or two.

You never know what you might learn on this blog. It's a pretty terrible blog really...in terms of regularity of postings and focusing on any kind of subject matter. But, you might learn something about living in a rural setting downeast...just maybe.

Friday, March 30, 2012

My don't I look pretty?

This little guy's owner had him all decked out for the St. Paddy's Day Parade recently in Wilmington. He seemed comfortable with his tulle skirt. I thought he was adorable.

Sunday, March 11, 2012

AAH -- nothing like SPRING!

This was a glancing shot with some heavy retouching . I spotted this red-bellied woodpecker from my kitchen window and rushed to the front door, cracking it slightly then trying to brace my elbow so as not to disturb him. No, I'm not a bird photographer but they fascinate the heck out of me.

Monday, February 20, 2012

Demise of Cedar Waxwing

Driving home last week, this beautiful creature couldn't seem to rise fast enough to clear the edge of my windshield. I turned around to rescue it though I knew there was not much I could do. But, it was too beautiful to allow a car to run over it. A local bird expert told me that it may have gotten drunk off eating berries. Cedar waxwing will be a part of an educational "show and tell" soon. At least its great beauty will be prolonged and be shared. Notice the orange tuffs at the edge of its wings.

Monday, February 6, 2012

GULL a la Jonathan

The fields have become playgrounds for the gulls.
We're talking, sometimes, hundreds of them. 
When I walk the dog, they will fly low, over Kinu
and I, and it is just a magnificent scene. 
I never tire of watching them. 





Saturday, January 7, 2012

CHASING SUNRISES

Happy 2012! The Year of the Dragon. It feels nice to leave 2011 behind.