Portsmouth Island, NC pictures

Morris Marina runs a ferry from Atlantic, NC over to Portsmouth Island, about a 40 minute ride.  The ferry crew is friendly and efficient...Mark sized up the vehicles waiting for the 3pm Thursday afternoon ferry, conferring with Rick on the logistics of putting the four vehicles on.  Our truck/camper is extra wide, and will only fit in the center.  There is a Toyota, pulling a trailer loaded with kayaks, and two other trucks.  I do not see any way to fit all these vehicles on that small ferry, but they make it happen.  Mark, in an effort to help me back Worth's truck onto the ferry, broke the driver's side mirror off the mounting bracket.  Now, I'm backing an unfamiliar vehicle totally in the blind!  He's a good guide, and once I'm loaded, there is so little room between the trucks I have to open the window and climb out, stepping on the truck hood to get over.

There is an osprey nest just off the marina cove, and the pair of adults are sitting on four eggs.  Rick drove the ferry close enough for me to catch this picture.

After we arrive on the island, Stuart and I kick off our shoes for the next four days, and set about letting the air pressure down on the truck tires.  Worth said they'd look like they'd come off the rims, and he was right!  We dropped the pressure from 65 pounds to about 25 pounds.  We locked the hubs, changed to four-wheel drive, and headed south.

The ferry comes in at Long Point Village, about 10 miles from the southern end.  We cross over the dune and see nothing but sand, sea and birds.  After driving just two miles, we stopped to visit with two men fishing.  Dave and Bill, nice guys, told us they'd been on the island for 10 days.  We visited a little, and drove south, to find a place where we could spend the night.  The picture above is our camp...  Worth has added a "back porch" of gridded metal, just large enough for a chair and the charcoal grill.  We enjoy a couple of adult beverages, and cook a chicken on the grill for our first sunset party.
Friday was just gorgeous!  We slept well, the ocean breeze blowing through the camper, no humans in sight.  We drove on to the south end, where the island is much wider, and the wildlife is more plentiful.  On the way south, we were directed to cross over the dunes, and drive on the road on the backside of the island.  We were detouring around a shore bird nesting area.  There are several miles of bird nesting areas and turtle nests that are closed to both pedestrian and vehicular traffic this time of year.  Students from NCSU and a VA college are managing and studying the areas, along the with Wildlife people and the National Park Service.  Stuart and I picked up a few shells, watched the birds, and headed north.  We drove on past Long Point Village, and noted that the sand was much softer in this part of the island.  After another two mile detour and more soft sand, I voted for a stop.  I think we were at milepost 10, just south of a nesting area.  We spent the rest of the afternoon and the night there.  Lovely spot to fish, shell, walk, read.  A rain shower passed by, leaving the sky colorful.

Saturday morning we drove on north, taking another detour to the back of the island, heading for Portsmouth Village.  The island is very wide at the north end, mostly salt flats that flood with even the slightest high tide.  It's dry today, as we drive across the flats.  We have "suited up", with long pants and long sleeves, sprayed our clothes with insect repellent, in anticipation of the horseflies and other large biting insects.  I was a little anxious driving through the maritime forest, slipping the Big Truck through wax myrtles and red cedars without leaving parts of the truck or camper behind.  No problem! 

This is the little sign at the beach side of the village.  I think most visitors come by boat from Ocracoke Island, just a short trip across the inlet.  The National Park Service has done a great job of restoring a few of the old houses and the old Life Saving Station.

Next post, more pics....

Portsmouth Island, NC

Paradise bound!  My darling brother and SIL offered Stuart and me the use of  their truck/camper for the weekend, specifially for a visit to Portsmouth Island, NC.  It's part of the Core Banks, some folks might think of it as the southern end of the Outer Banks.  Truthfully, all the beaches in NC are islands, making them ALL Outer Banks.  Portsmouth Island is directly across the inlet from Ocracoke Island.  From the Village of Ocracoke, you can see the state historic site of Portsmouth Village.  It was a 'ship lightering' community for more than 100 years.  The people living on this sliver of land on the edge of the mid-Atlantic made there living fishing, crabbing and shrimping, and unloading the ships loaded with goods from Europe bound for the eastern US.  The shoals prevented the ships from coming closer, so the people of PI loaded the goods into smaller boats, moved to the island  The goods were then loaded onto other ships, and moved up and down the east coast, beyond the treacherous shoals 'outside'.

Hurricanes changing the inlets in the early 1900's changed the game, and the ships could come closer in other locations, eliminating the need for the lightering services.  The last permanent residents left PI in 1971, with the death of some of the last people.   African Americans made up about one third of the population of the island, but until the 1970's blacks remained marginalized by the whites.  Laws prevented white and black children from attending the same school, and schools were never built for black children.  The site of Portsmouth Village is now a historic site, accessible only by boat from Ocracoke and the ferry landing on Portsmouth Island, about 25 miles south.  There are no roads on the island.  Morris Marina, in Atlantic, operates a ferry for the park service, dropping people and four-wheel drive vehicles at the south end of the island.

So, Stuart and  I have brother Worth/SIL Karen's truck and slide-in camper for a few days, and we're very excited about the trip!  Pictures, taken with my new camera (hopefully!), later....

Art and Soul, 2011

This is a page from a journal created by Ingrid Dijkers. I took a class with her at Art and Soul 2011, Hampton, VA. She had such great creativity, and great technical knowledge...I have several pages of notes, and a few pages prepped for drawing, after a day in her class. I also studied with Kari McKnight, another graphic artist who is very talented; and LK Ludwig, a photographer/book-binder/artist.

What I don't have is a picture of my friends! Hopefully, someone else has one, and will share with me.

A couple of things I learned:

household primer is a great 'gesso' according to one teacher and a terrible choice according to another teacher. Liquitex is The Best gesso according to one teacher, and never-to-be-considered by another teacher. Stabilo pens are awesome. Future floor wax is a great, reasonably priced sealer. Archival, too, so no worries about fading or yellowing. Gesso can make ANY paper sturdy. There is a built-in Magic Grid in most point-and-shoot cameras. When photo'ing people, you should probably take 5 steps forward; who cares what shoes they are wearing? A Dremel has four DIFFERENT colletts. Who came up with that stupid design? There is now available a universal collett. A woman demanded that sensible notion, I'm sure.

"A woman can run faster with her skirt up than a man can with his pants down", Tremmie Jewel Waller, ca 1930.

Make art every day.

April 18 garden notes

The white clematis by the front sidewalk is pretty, filled with blooms! Since the rabbits, deer and voles don't eat them, I should plant more. And, they don't mind the scattered sun delivery, through all the trees.

The Pride of Mobile azaleas are behind this un-named clematis, and seem to not be on the deer's dining

trail. Yesterday, I dug up two POM azaleas, to give to a friend. They are on the dining trail, so it's time for me to choose something else to plant in that location.















These iris probably came from mama, and this year they are pretty. I've identified another location that could use iris, which will spread the joy around the garden.

The bright green heuchera's are looking good. Think I'll add more of them in one location, maybe add some here. I think the bright green and purple are good friends.



















This is the pot by the front door...The last time I tried an ipomoea, sweet potato vine, the deer were very grateful! This is in a different location, we'll see if it makes it. The verbena and dusty miller are nice colors together, I think!

More photos later...

picture problems!

What's up with posting pictures?!?  I need some time to sort out this technical problem...

Spring garden

The little pink azaleas, the little white azaleas and the white lorapetalum (species) are blooming along the driveway, and make me smile. These are the only azaleas the deer haven't nibbled, it's a gift! Many of the camelias have not been nibbled, and so far the hydrangeas seem to be OK. After 8 years, I'm finally getting in touch with reality on the deer issue! No more Gold Dust Acubua, no more azaleas. The ajuga has found several happy locations, so I will let it live where it wants to, rather than where I want it to live. I've discovered Kathy Fitzgerald's blog, Gardening with KF. She lives in Oak Island, writes for several garden magazines, including Carolina Gardener. There is a an article in the current issue about fertilizers that might be an eye-opener for those who use synthetic fertilizer. Including me! The current post on her blog suggests that NOW is the time to clean up the debris under the gardenias, to help prevent a whitefly problem later this summer. Last year, for the first time ever, I had white flies on my biggest gardenias. I vacuumed the bushes, to suck up the little flying devils. This week, I'll clean up underneath, burning the debris which is housing eggs for this year's population. The blueberries are blooming, the late daffodils are blooming, the Sombrueil rose has it's first bloom, too.






Just to the south of the the pretty pink and white azaleas and the white lorapetalum is a little bed of helleborus, which I love. The good news is that neither the deer, the rabbits nor the voles love them! And, they bloom in the dead of winter, lasting until late April. There is one more giant pot of white helleborus, a sweet gift from Martha, to go in the ground. Yet another gift: in the Monday spring clean-up, I found more than 100 little volunteer seedlings hiding under the leaves! What joy! I carefully lifted about 50 little gems from the edge of the lawn, from under the leaves and parent helleborus, and put them in a tray to grow with a little care. Fed them, too. I'll tranpslant them into a new display when they gain a little size. Considering that a pot of these precious plants will cost me about $13, I just made a LOT of money. Virtually. The squash are getting one more chance this year. I bought a pricey floating row cover, which I'll employ in an effort to stop the squash vine borers. If it works, this will be the first summer in more than 10 years I will harvest a squash. This year, Tromboncino squash. From Southern Exposure Seed Exchange (where I buy most of my seeds). The Yamato cucumbers are up, and transferred to larger pots. Other seeds sown: loofah, bronze fennel, castor beans, coleus, parsley, moonflower vine, Giant Okra, basil. Tomatoes: Cherokee Purple, Principe Borghese, Hungarian Italian Paste, Brandywine, Green Grape, Stone. Peppers: Carolina Wonder, Aji Dulce, Doe Hill Golden Bell, Little Colorful Ornamentals, Sweet Banana, and a tiny hot pepper from a man in Oaxaca. Most of these seedlings are up, but some are not showing signs of life, such as the okra and the parsley. Old seeds, I think.

Beach Week

Rule Number One for Sistah Week: Do what you want to do . There are no other rules.
  One chose to look for shells...
















One chose to cook and iron....
















One chose a mid-day nap.....















One chose to bend metal....


















one chose to read on the beach....






A lovely week at the beach!