myretroperspective

After a nice string of incredibly beautiful sunny fall days, I awoke to cloudy threatening skies this morning.  That was okay though since I had to work the Pea Island VC today.  I’d much rather have gorgeous weather on my days off.  It is interesting how the weather effects visitation at the two VCs.  On Pea Island, more folks seem to stop in on sunny days when they’re on their way to the beach.  At Gateway, we seem to have our biggest crowds when it’s raining.  Go figure… The relatively low human turn out at Pea Island today allowed me plenty of time to monitor the activity at the bird feeders which are visible through the pond facing picture windows.  I was surprised to see this unusual looking fellow.  I’m going to call it a partial albino, adult male red-winged blackbird.  I know partial albino is not the correct term, but the scientific name for this abnormality of scattered white feathering just seems to not be rolling off my tongue or fingertips this evening.  Near the

After taking care of several errands yesterday, Emma and I enjoyed an evening of sitting outside.  As usual, she was on full alert, just in case something threatening should happen to come near.  It wasn’t long before she found something of interest. Her nose was working overtime, and she soon took off at a run with her back hairs standing up, to the back edge of the volunteer compound.  Barking away as she went, of course.  I was right behind her to be sure she stayed within the fence. Sure enough, the three little bears were making their way through the field behind the bath/laundry house.  The grasses pretty much hid them, but they all made their way to the woods.  Don’t know where their mama was.  I didn’t see her.  Much of her barking seems to be a false alarm to me, but last night she was right. Today after checking the internet, I found out that low tide on Pea Island was scheduled to occur in the early afternoon.  Considering I’ll be on my way in just over two wee

Happy Chuseok everyone! For those of you outside of Korea, Chuseok is the Korean Thanksgiving. It's when everyone goes to their grandparents house, makes songpyeon (look it up, it's delicious. It's rice cakes, but some have honey in the middle and they are to die for!), and some dress up in their traditional hanboks. But for us foreigners...it means a five day long weekend! Dear Friends,  I loved your idea to take roommate pics in hanboks! The pics turned out hilarious! And the fact that you could find some for the both of you to wear is pretty impressive. Now if only I could find a guy's one for the hubs to wear.     Dear hubs, the mustache is coming back I see. This happens every year around this time and I always feel the same way. I start with hating it, threatening to shave it in your sleep (I just might this year) but by the end, I can't help but laugh every time I see you. (This makes it really difficult to have even a semi-serious conversation.)   Dear wee

After having my picnic lunch on Tuesday at the Edenton National Fish Hatchery, Emma and I got back in the car to head home.  I didn’t know it then, but there were a few more small adventures awaiting us in the afternoon. As I was driving the two lane roads back to US 64, I was surrounded by farmers’ fields on both sides of the road.  Much of the crops consisted of soybeans, but there were quite a few cotton fields.  Having grown up in the north, I had always wanted to see a cotton field up close and see what cotton looked like before it was a shirt or pair of pants.  What it looked like to me from the roadside was a field of snowballs on stalks! This field brought to mind memories I had from watching a movie a number of years ago.  I figured out it was “Places in the Heart” starring Sally Fields.  In it, as I remember it, she portrays a mother trying to provide for her family by growing cotton.  In the movie I remember them picking cotton by hand and

So R took off bright and early this morning for his A-100's "offsite overnight." Yep, you read that right: they're having a slumber party!  No better way to bond with people than ride on a bus for over an hour together and listen to them snore in the middle of the night, I suppose.  While I haven't been told where they are going or what they're doing (I'm not sure R has either, to be honest) here are a few of the scenarios I've cooked up for his next 36 hours: 1-They're taken out into the wilderness to do trust falls & sing kumbaya around a camp fire while making s'mores.  This might be R's favorite scenario because he would be asked to build the camp fire, since he remains an Eagle Scout. 2- They're taken out into the wilderness to test their survival skills a la Hunger Games- last person standing gets to go anywhere on the bid list.  I actually think they drove to West Virginia (disctrict 11 where Katniss & Gale are allegedl

With the weather forecasted to be outstanding today, Emma and I hopped into the car and headed out for Edenton National Fish Hatchery early this morning.  Edenton NRH is a warmwater hatchery which means that the fish raised here do best in water temperatures above 65 degrees.  It is one of the oldest hatcheries in the country, and was first established in 1898.  Currently, the hatchery mainly works with restocking Atlantic striped bass and American shad.  As I understand it, these fish spend their early life growing in the rivers along the Atlantic coast.  Then they spend their adult life at sea, and return to spawn in the rivers yearly.  Their numbers have drastically decreased because of pollution, dams, and over fishing.  The first thing to explore upon arrival is the aquarium.  There is a 700 gallon fresh water tank inside with all of the fish species that can be found in the coastal North Carolina rivers. There are 36 ponds where the young fry are raised until they’re

One of my favorite past times is sailing in the Caribbean. While in Montego Bay, Jamaica on Saturday, the Jamaican Tourist Board invited me and a few girls who met me in Jamaica on a Reggae cruise by Island Routes. When we got on the boat, the fun started immediately. There were a group of people from Trinidad who really showed us how they “drop down low and sweep the floor with it!” We had so much fun watching them dance since as American girls, we’re a little more modest about suggestive dancing with men that we don’t know. But the chemistry between all of us mixed well. And they wanted to exchange contact information so that we could stay in touch. So after the cruise around Montego Bay, the girls from Trinidad want me to hang out with them for Carnival next year! I’m thinking, “What have I gotten myself into?” But, I’m up for visiting their island and getting to know a little more about their culture and island influence. Travel is a lifestyle and one has to adjust to the fashion a

I’ve only got about three weeks left until I wander out of North Carolina and head for Georgia.  When I arrived near the end of July, it was brutally hot and muggy everyday.  This morning, I had the furnace on to take the chill out of the rig.  Lots of changes in the last nine weeks.  The corn ripened and has now been harvested.  The soy bean plants are yellowing, so it won’t be long before they’re harvested as well. I was out fairly early this morning to do the loop of refilling the pamphlet boxes.  There are a total of twenty boxes that I have to restock, and it takes about 70 miles of driving to visit them all.  It’s been kind of interesting to see which boxes get the most use.  For several years now, it has been one of my endeavors to get an outstanding picture of a belted kingfisher.  It’s an endeavor that continues to elude me.  Belted kingfishers must be about the most skittish of all birds.  It seems impossible to sneak up on them, and the minute they detect you, they get