Movie: Religulous

What a funny documentary.

In My Garden – Yellow Tiger Lily

Placa Reial

I really liked the energy that came out every night in Barcelona. The streets were literally filled with people. Everyone seemed to be out for a walk or headed to a late night dinner.  Although the sidewalks were full, the feeling was comfortable. You didn’t get that big city, shoulder bashing vibe.  Unlike the suburbs where I live, being outside on the streets in Barcelona after 10pm was fun and I felt relatively safe.

About 100 feet from our apartment building was the Placa Reial. Placa is the catalan word for plaza. The Placa was lined with restaurants that served food until all hours of the night.

Our apartment was located in the gothic quarter where the streets were narrow and alley-like. There were some interesting characters that hung out near our apartment. The wheelchair guy in this next video was having quite the argument with … someone.

Each night after the restaurants were shut down and the trash was picked up, the street cleaners come through and washed the alley way and placa. For the amount of people that moved through the area, the streets were exceptionally clean. Check out the lanterns hanging in each archway around the placa.

Then there’s the Red Hat Society ladies and the street guy who didn’t want me to film him. I think he was looking for a fight.

Springer’s Point

Just around the corner from the Ocracoke Lighthouse, is a nature preserve, Springer’s Point. The preserve is owned by the North Carolina Coastal Land Trust.

There’s a short trail you can follow out to the sound.  Along the way, you walk through a natural maritime forest.

When you reach the sound, you’ll come out at a location known as Teach’s Hole — The famous pirate, Blackbeard, was killed here.

If you decide to visit, you should know there’s no parking. You either walk or bike to the preserve. There is a bike rack and information stand at the entrance.

http://www.coastallandtrust.org/pages/springers_point.html

In My Garden – Wild Thing Sage

Another perennial that loves full sun. I have two of these planted up against the house under the bay window in my pink garden. They bloom up to frost in a fuchsia color that’s almost electric-looking.  The hummingbirds love this plant. I have one hummingbird that feeds through the sage on his or her way to the honeysuckle bushes.  I’ve had these plants since 2006 and haven’t noticed any pests or diseases.

British Cemetery

There’s a British Cemetery on Ocracoke. The cemetery actually belongs to Great Britain and the Union Jack is flown from it.

During WWII, a German submarine sank a British ship off the North Carolina coast. The bodies of four British sailors washed ashore on the Outer Banks. The men were buried on a small plot of land that later became the British Cemetery.

In My Garden – Shrub Rose

I have two Jackson & Perkins Fairy Queen shrub roses planted next to each other. One is light pink while the other is bright red. The bright red shrub was given to me as a Mother’s Day gift back in 2005. The following weekend I picked up the pink one from the dead plant table at Lowes. I think I paid a dollar or two for it.

Together, both shrubs are 2 feet tall by 4 feet wide. I’ve never trimmed the bushes except for the wild branch ever so often. I feed it once a year with a rose fertilizer stake. I have noticed the rabbits eating the blooms this year.

Rabbits

I came home from work one day and noticed a rabbit in the backyard under the bird feeder. He was eating the fresh sprouts growing from the seed that had dropped there. As I was watching the rabbit, he suddenly ran to the side of the yard and starting running down the fence line. Out from under a bush another rabbit joined in the run. Chasing the first bunny around the perimeter of the yard. Eventually it was three rabbits running around and around the yard. What a sight!

I was able to catch two of them on video.

Ocracoke Lighthouse

While Denise and I were on Ocracoke Island last week, we paid a visit to the Ocracoke Lighthouse. The bike ride from the ferry dock to the lighthouse took just a few minutes. Definitely less than 5 mins. For some reason, the map of Ocracoke leads you to believe the distances are further than what they are.

The Ocracoke lighthouse is the second oldest working lighthouse in the United States. It’s completely automated and the light is stationary. They say the light is visible up to 14 miles away which I believe. No matter where you’re at, you can see the top of the lighthouse peeking out above the treeline. It’s a great reference point when tooling around the village.

You’re not able to go in the lighthouse nor enter the grounds where the lighthouse stands. You’re pretty much limited to the boardwalk path or the grassy area at the end of the boardwalk near the lighthouse. The lighthouse is simple in appearance yet quaint. It fits the Ocracoke atmosphere perfectly.

What was once the lightkeeper’s house is now a private residence.

There’s parking for a few cars and a bike rack. We only seen people on bikes when we were there.

I must say that this visit to the Ocracoke Lighthouse has peaked my interest in lighthouses. I’m going to make the effort to get out and visit all of the North Carolina lighthouses.

Wouldn’t it be neat to be out on the water at night and see first hand how the lighthouse guides you? Scary too!

http://www.nps.gov/caha/ocracoke-island-lighthouse.htm

In My Garden – Daylily

This morning I noticed my Veins of Truth Daylily had bloomed. I received this plant as a Mother’s Day gift from my daughter back in 2006.

I’ve moved the plant twice since receiving it. It has never failed to bloom. It’s in the full sun from midday till evening here in Eastern North Carolina.