Butterfly

We've been seeing alot of these beautiful butterflies lately....aren't they gorgeous?

Hot!

It's been hot.  I mean really, really hot here!!  We've been sweating it out down in the hangar working on the Avion!!!

Green tomatoes!

The only red tomatoes I have so far are the big grape ones....but my regular tomato vines are teaming with fruit.  It's just green so far.

So, I made the best of it with some fried green tomatoes!

Strangely, I had a can of wax beans - but no kidney beans in my pantry.....so I made some "2 Bean Salad".   Added some coleslaw and this was our light dinner!

Hiking at Jordan Lake Dam

Went for another "conditioning" hike this morning at the Jordan Lake dam.

Scenic overlook.   Beautiful day but hot, hot, hot!!

Made 7 mile circuit - to the other side of the dam!  Then home to work on the Avion!

Lunch

Just working on the Avion.....we come to the house mid-day for a light lunch. 

Perfect for the hot weather!

Hiking

We did a 6 mile hike at Jordan Lake - early in the morning to avoid most of the heat!

Disturbed this lovely black snake on the trail!

Lovely views....but is sure was warm, even in the shade!

Avion

Yeah....you'll have to go to the Avion blog to see what we've been up to!

Little Avion work

Go check out the Avion blog for a little bit of work we did in the crazy hot weather!

Veggies!

Dick and Lindy were out of town so they told me to help myself to some of their garden produce!

I spotted a gnawed cucumber....

And I found the culprit!!  Moved him out of the garden....

My "haul"....

Nice and fresh for dinner!

More Ocracoke July 4th Festivities

Very busy day!!!

The annual sand-sculpture contest was underway on the beach.  The contestants were allowed to use anything that was found on the beach.  They all started at 9:30AM and were to finish by noon.

We walked the beach a little early - so some of the sculptures weren't quite finished.  This one is an "Expecting Mermaid"--the sculptress proudly modeling her baby bump as is her mermaid!  Weird but cute. 

All things nautical.....an Ocracoke Octopus.

The Ocra Croc - several used seaweed to decorate.

The Ocra-man - we think one leg may have been taken by an Ocra-shark.

The Ocra-croc mostly finished.

And more detail on the Ocra-pus as noon approached.

My favorite - the Ocra-frog.  Hard to see since they're still rushing to finish - but the frog's long tongue ends with a fly that he has caught made of black seashells.  Very Cute.

And a terrific Blackbeard!   Lots of the contestants wore red-white-blue outfits.  Very fun and free for everyone!  Don't know the winners of the contest yet - I'll report back.

 Next up in the afternoon was the annual parade.  The sky looked threatening, but the rain held off until the parade was thru!

The requisite start of the parade - law enforcement and the fire trucks!!

And about half the population came out in the decorated golf carts!!

This was the Manning - Hutson entry!

And a lone bagpiper!!

All good fun -  most of the participants threw candy to the kids.

The local young adults - we've seen this same group other years.

They really go all out -

All manner of patriotic decorations abounded. 

And a great multi-partisan political entry!

The local garden shop!

Not sure about the theme here!  But they were enthusiastic!

Always cheer on EMS!

And the end of the parade is always the (messy) horses - haha - so no one has to walk thru their poop!

Told ya it was a busy day!!

On to the Manning - Hutson rental house for the fish fry!

Good to see the guys hard at work!

Rich with the tub of fish they caught yesterday, ready to go downstairs to the fryer.

And Jeannine and Cynthia having fun with the other "fixin's".

Yummmmy - you can't beat fresh fish.

And here's my plate - what a grand way to end a wonderful July 4th!!

Ocracoke!!

Another fabulous trip to Ocracoke! 

Since we were on the tail-end of a boat shopping trip, AND our plane is in the maintenance shop, we were car-bound.  No worries - hopped on the Hatteras ferry.  Rainy day!

Buddy and Sharon were behind us on the next ferry - just a 1/2 hour or so back.  Met at Gaffer's immediately to get on "island time" with the 50 cent wings and clams.

Checked in at Ocracoke Island Realty - our last minute rental house is fabulous!!

Huge and comfortable.

Pretty view of the sound near our house.

Out riding bikes, as usual, Buddy spotted friends Paul and Gail (who now live full time on  island!)
They generously invited us to their house for grilled pizza with their extended family.  They are such sweethearts!!  Gail made me a "special pizza" with no meat on it - with her home grown basil and pesto.  Wow, yummy!

I asked Paul if he knew any good clamming grounds - since we didn't have a dinghy to go to our "normal secret spot".  He said that as a matter of fact, we could go with him and his grandkids in the morning!

So, off we went thru the muck...into the sound!

Fantastic clamming - we harvested plenty - and stopped when we had enough.  Left some for others!

Then it was on to visit Rich and Jeannine at their rental house.  They are down for the week with Jeannine's brother & his family.

Sorry - have to throw this in.....I usually try to stay away from politics in the blog....but we saw this guy at Dajio's pub....I asked him if he wouldn't mind if I snapped a photo.  He seemed amused....

 Next day - back to Rich & Jeannine's rental for a visit.  They had rented a boat and gone fishing for the day.  Their nephew Robert is the trooper - cleaning all the fish for the fish-fry tonight while Luke supervises.

 Relaxing on their deck.

And before you knew it, it was time for the fireworks.  This is the first time Ocracoke has done fireworks since the tragic explosion there several years ago.

Looks like the entire town and visitors showed up!

I'll just let you page thru the photos - good fun!!

This is the finale - if you'll notice all the smoke -- the wind was blowing pretty fast at altitude because we kept getting hit with ash.  During the finale, the wind must have been even stronger because it appeared to be blowing the fireworks towards the crowd.  A little uncomfortable feeling!!!  But very pretty.

Wishing you a great July 4th!!!

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