Back to Normal

              So we are now into October and things at the Refuge are a little quite now. We were use to seeing 250 people plus at the Visitor Center on Saturdays and Sundays and now we are down to 150 on average. Even though the weather here is still warm and the days are all sun and the nights are now in the mid 60's which makes for great sleeping with the windows open. It's awesome listening to the Ocean at night. Things are a bit quieter now that all the schools are back to work. The big show will be in a couple of weeks when Wing Over Water happens and we will be busy with the Birding Folks who will come from every where to see the Migrations , both Birds and Birders. All the ponds at Pea Island and all the Impoundments in Alligator River will turn white with Tundra Swans and Snow Geese. At Pea Island we will have many of the same and we will also have the White Pelicans and every duck in the books passing through. I have been busy doing a few chores on the RV and we are ready to go at the end of the month. Looking forward to being back in Texas . We will miss all the Family in the North East for the Holidays but will not miss the cold and snow.
          The Family thing at Sea Scape went fast as always and I think all had a good time this year . Just doing nothing and enjoying the company is always good.                     G

A little time off

The Kites were just so awesome and were a pleasant surprise for the week we had off.

While we were at Sea Scape for our annual end of Summer Family outing there was a Kite Fest in Nags Head. There were so many in the air that I couldn't get them all in one frame.

It was amazing the size of some of these kites.

These pictures just don't do justice to how large they really are. The tower in the back round is 50 feet tall.



The Crab and Octopus were neat.

Sunrise over the ocean from our time share. You can be sure that I did not take this one, Lauren did.

The Dragon was huge.

We took some of the family to Pea Island and we were side tracked at the turtle pond.

Just a few of the Turtles giving us the feed me eye. It's funny because the refuge does not feed them and there is a sign saying do not feed . You know how that goes.

A view from the Dune in front of the Visitor Center.

Rainbows

We have had our fair share of thunder and lightning as of late so it was a nice surprise to see a Rainbow appear. Over the last three weeks we have had only two days where we haven't had some sort of rain or thunder . Even with all the rain and wind we haven't had a day of temps below 80 at night and the days have been in the high 80's and the Ocean temps in the mid 80's. Really steamy.



I couldn't get a clear picture of both ends but it was complete. This happened after one whopper of a lightning storm that dropped 5 inches of rain in two hours. It was amazing that nothing flooded by us.



Another great sunset and what's odd is it had rained all day here and then the Sun came out just in time to allow a great sunset.

We Volunteered to do the First Friday Program in Manteo and we had a good time talking with some of the Local Patrons. There were a few of the local Politicians on the campaign trail and it was a hoot listening to their take on what's going on locally and in the nation and how things are affecting the local economy . It was also a great people watching evening because you get to see what a little drink can do to some folks conception of what cordial conversation really is, the more drink the louder they became and the incoherent thought trains that were wrecking everywhere. Made for a very entertaining evening. 

How often can you take a picture of yourself and some Turtles at the same time. These Turtles are on the Refuges Boardwalk in a little pond that about the size of a small swimming pool. At times there are up to 20 of them all looking sad and saying feed me. The Refuge doesn't allow feeding but we all know how that goes. The reflection on the water with the sunlight streaming between the floor boards makes for a cool picture . It looks like lines drawn on the water.

An odd picture to post but this was the first time since we have been here that the only car in the visitor center lot was ours. Things have really slowed down here since Labor day. Most days the lot is full wit cars parked on the grass and on the shoulder of the road.

Pocosin Lakes

It has been awhile since my last posting. I always seem to let time get past me and that I need to do some thing soon . At least this time I had a good  reason. I had been feeling a little discomfort for some time in my back and just ignored it for I guess to long as it would come and go,, so you know you take a couple of aspirin and go on. So it didn't get better and as always I end up making a mess of it. We missed a good party and seeing our Grand Baby. Sorry to all of you who we have missed seeing. As you can see from the photo we went to see one of our sister refuges at the beginning of the month so here are a few shots from that trip.

The day we were there the Dragon Flies were hatching out and there were hundreds of them buzzing about the walkways.

A picture from the board walk along the Scuppernog River. For all who have done some 18th century living history. The wine with the same name has been here in the colonies from the very beginning of European Settlement and the mother vine for this wine is still on Roanoke Island.

Lots of flowers in bloom and they line the walkways.

There were many different color Dragonflies. We saw Blue, Green, Yellow , Black , and Red. Just so many Beautiful colors.

A Yellow Bellied Slider resting and giving me the look , you know the one all animals do when having their picture taken. It's the glazed over eye look.

The Skinks were every where and they were all different sizes.

We came across this Bear Cub on one of the less traveled roads in the Refuge.

Mom and baby looking a bit surprised to see us.                                                                                                                   Today is the first day off of pain meds and it feels good to look at my pictures and I sure am ready to start back to being some what normal. What ever that is and only a few more days of antibiotics , can't wait to have a cold adult beverage. And so ends the story of the never ending Kidney Stones. I guess I should be happy that this time there was no Surgery and it has been 6 years since the last time I was this bad. That also happened here in the Outer Banks when we were at Sea Scape and at least there is a really good Doctor here that we found the last time I went through this..  I won't complain about the little ones any more when the pass on their own , it's just really a pain. LOL now that it's done.

A day off

Enjoying a nice fresh water bath with his friends. These guys also help to keep our Kitty's entertained .

Watching one of the usual visitors to our feeder enjoying a bath in my make shift bird bath.

Having a good time splashing the onlookers.

Went to visit the Lighthouse that's up the road from where we are parked and discovered that  even those who should know do make mistakes. The sign on the road looks great , but you get inside the Light Station and the corner stone has a different story.

Go figure. You would think some one would have looked inside to check the spelling. After all the stone had been inside above the entrance stair since they built the place.

The Park Service just finished the renovation of Bodie this year and you can finally climb to the top. It looks really good inside and out now.

The wrought iron stair case was completely removed and redone during the renovation and it's quite a climb as the stair case is very narrow so you have to go up in single file to the top. It  had to be difficult for the early  light keepers to carry the buckets of oil to the top to keep the light burning . I was tired after one trip and they had to do it a dozen times a day.



The view as always from the top of any Light Station is awesome, as  I looked out towards the Sound I could see the Island that we went to,to band the Pelicans a couple of weeks ago. It's the one in the distance.

The little white speck in the center of the picture is our RV. So you can see we are just over the sand dune from the ocean. the houses to the left are for the seasonal NPS staff. The other RV's are NPS volunteers.

A baby Loggerhead Turtle that we helped release into the ocean last night. The baby was found on the beach during the day and so it was held in a safe area until dark. That's done to give them a chance to get into the water with out the Gulls or crabs eating them.



It was just amazing to see the little one swimming with all it's energy trying to move into the surf. After a few minutes the little one disappeared into the ocean. We waited to make sure the waves didn't bring the baby back to shore.



All those little white spots are Ghost Crabs. There were hundreds of them on the beach last night. You don't see as many in the day light, but when the sun goes down it is a much different beach.  They are one of the main reasons the newly hatched Turtles have a high mortality rate. Also why when we do a night release we wait to see the baby Turtles are well into the surf before we leave.

    So this past Sunday we have a special treat as our Nephew Anthony who has been working his way through the world of the food service industry has made a really huge step as he has gone from dishwasher to Chef , and what a job he has done. On Sunday the Restaurant he has labored in with much love over the last 5 years as they trained him in all aspects of being one of the many cooks and all that details it takes with running a kitchen and a business at the same time. He was finally allowed to do a special dinner with him doing all the arrangements and the pairing of each course with a special microbrew beer from a local brewer turned out to be just a wonderful . The food and the beer were perfectly matched and the service was just awesome. If anyone should happen to be in the Historic Portsmouth you should not miss the chance to stop and have a meal at Still. They have a great website and the menu is always interesting. Once again our best wishing for Anthony and we know he has a brilliant future ahead of him. Much love to Him and his Dad and his Pop-Pop from us both.                                                                                   G

Some Pic's from last week

Our Ghost crab friends eating bird seed under our feeder. It has become quite a little colony of them as they have dug in all around the base of the feeder and it's funny as they don't bother the birds and the birds don't seem to mind their company. It is quite a sight when the little birds go into the crab holes picking up the seed that has fallen into the holes that crabs have dug.

A Willet feeding in the surf. You have to love their running back and forth with the wave action.  

Getting ready to fish. We were lucky to get in the day as it has rained here every day since. Not all day but there have been showers and thunder and lighting during the course of each day. Today was the best day since last week and the hurricane is off shore from us. Figure that one out? Still can't complain too much as it has kept the temperatures down in the low 80's and there are still no real mosquito problem here as of yet. Just some of those biting flies .

The water is warm and I forgot to mention that we really did catch fish . Not a lot and they weren't very big but when you catch and release it really doesn't matter . It just makes the day a bit more exciting.

We had all the little Sanderlings bathing and just having a great time in the tidal pools as we fished. It's just amazing how much noise a group of little birds can make when they are taking a bath.

The Willets and Gulls also enjoyed the warm water. Not as much as the little guys and no where near the noise level.

We had at one point a hundred birds splashing around in front of us. So you know we had to stop fishing and just sit under the umbrella as we watched them have a good time.

And as the day started to fade we let the poles sit and we enjoyed the roar of the waves and the gentle breeze. Just another beautiful day on the beach and as the tide came in and the tidal pools disappeared all the birds went back to hunting up and down the beach and life was once again renewed for another day.