Memorial Day Montage

I spent most of Memorial Day outside -- planting, weeding, pruning, mulching, and sweeping. I took a moment to capture some shots from around the yard on this lovely day. Can you find the bullfrog in the picture above? That little guy guards our pond all the time. He's very cute! And, we had our first lily bloom today, though I didn't manage to get it all into this photo:

Here's a wider view of the pond. Since we no longer have fish to munch 'em, the plants are thriving this year, and we have millions of tadpoles swimming around.

Here are a couple of photos of the backyard area, which has been taken over by hummingbirds zipping around lately. It's one of my favorite parts of the yard, especially when the roses are blooming.

Finally, here are some long-awaited porch photos. They're kind of dark, because we have to keep the ceiling shades drawn when it's hot and sunny like today so that it doesn't heat up too much. We absolutely love spending time in our new space, and it's my favorite room in the house now. The muted colors, shade, and tile floor give it a sense of coolness even when it's quite warm by the thermometer.

Looking in from one screen door

Looking in from the other screen door - the open door into the house is in the background

Looking out from inside the house - we eat most of our meals at that table now!

Looking out from the house - you can see the ceiling blinds here

First paddle of the season

We finally got out on our kayaks today for the first time this year. Ah, a long weekend...wish I had more of them. You can be productive and do chores and errands but can still find time to have fun. And this was fun! There were very few others out paddling today, so it was mostly just us and the birds. We saw great blue herons, various songbirds, a protonotary warbler, and heard a kingfisher. The fish were jumping, and with temperatures in the upper 80s by the time we were done, it really felt like summer. We sure could use some rain, though, to keep the Eno River navigable -- and water my flowers.

Sailing, Sun, and Fun in Charleston

Last weekend we spent several days in Charleston continuing our sailing classes and enjoying seeing the city we'd fallen in love with twenty years prior. We figured since our 22nd anniversary was coming up (May 25), it was about time we went back. We had been studying for two months for our ASA 105 and 106 certifications ("Coastal Navigation" and "Advanced Coastal Cruising" respectively), so we were planning on taking those exams and enjoying two days of sailing, plus a night sail required for ASA 106. Unfortunately, Barry got pretty seasick on Saturday, so we weren't able to do the night sail. As a result, we did not earn the 106 certification. We honestly weren't disappointed as we were much more interested in passing the very difficult 105 exam, which should give us all we need to do bareboat charters in the future -- we'd already achieved our ASA 101, 103, 104, and 114 certifications in March. I'm pleased to say that we both passed the ASA 105 exam and learned a great deal more from the weekend sailing -- including the fact that Bonine (like Dramamine but less drowsy-making) before a sail is a very good thing! In addition to the sailing, we had a great time walking around the lovely streets of this quintescential Southern city full of flowers and history and eating in wonderful restaurants. Check out our photos (on Webshots) here.

And yet another hike

Taking a much-needed break from sailing study, we drove to Morrow Mountain State Park in the Uwharries (the oldest mountain range in North America, who knew!?) on Sunday and had a lovely hike on lightly traveled trails. We didn't take many photos this time, but we captured a couple of shots: (above) a large dam on Lake Tillery and (below) one of the many mountain laurels in full bloom. Gorgeous!

A mountain hike

Barry and I had a wonderful hike in the Lewis Fork Wilderness in the Mt. Roger's area of western Virginia on May 6. We only met two others on the trails, both on horseback, so felt like the wilderness belonged to us alone. The woods were awash in wildflowers, and the dappled sunlight provided a picture-perfect glow. We crossed numerous streams with greenery-covered rocks. It was a wonderful day! I've posted more pictures on Webshots, if you care to take a look.

A walk in the park

On Sunday Barry announced that we were going for a hike in a "surprise" location. He directed me onto the interstate, heading in the direction of our usual hiking park (Eno River State Park in Durham County), but he told me that we weren't going to the Eno. He finally told me that we were going to Medoc Mountain State Park. Huh? I'd never heard of it. Apparently, not many others have either. On this sunny spring day, temperature in the 70s, bright Carolina blue skies, we only crossed paths with a couple of other hikers. The park is in Halifax County, literally in the middle of nowhere, which likely explained the paucity of crowds. Bliss!

We had a wonderful 9 mile hike through the gorgeous rolling hills and creekside trails, listening to birds singing (and adding a Veery to our life lists), and wishing the Mountain Laurel (yes, Mountain Laurel in the piedmont of NC!) was just a bit farther along so we could have seen it in full bloom. All in all, a wonderful spring day in North Carolina, at a little-known park. Our secret!

A charming little green snake crossing the trail in front of us