So far this morning, I’ve seen a ruby-throated hummingbird outside my office window, and that bald eagle along the road. Hoping to see or hear an owl or two tonight, and most likely the pileated woodpeckers will be busy in the woods out back.

Holy cow! Just saw a bald eagle swoop down roadside here in Carrboro, NC. And to think I went all the way to Alaska this summer to see eagles. (There are eagles at nearby Jordan Lake.)

I haven’t seen many turtles this summer during my walks in our woods. This one turned up near our front door. 🐒

eastern box turtle

Last day at the pool
Reading β€˜bout Benin bronzes
French fries with ketchup

That Phoenix post by @maique reminded me of something we did in the early years of blogging: we took turns hosting a weekly blog carnival, a round-up of blog posts on a theme. In the M.b world, for example, someone would point to various posts about visiting Phoenix.

I do not like centipedes. But this one was inside an old beer bottle that I kicked out of the ground so easier to observe.

centipede
Bodie Lighthouse, NC

Stunning day on the Outer Banks near the village of Avon. We’ve come to visit with Carrboro friends who own a house here.

sand dune

I used the Rode PodMic, Zoom PodTrak P4, and my aging iPhone 8 to record a couple of interviews for an article I’m writing for the Duke School of Medicine. Setup worked great.

mushroom

I struggled to get today’s Wordle. I stayed up too late watching a movie, and I have a lot on my mind with family issues and work assignments. Eventually I got the word. Tonight I will sleep more.

A strike/rally/sit-in making move-in day at American University very slow and interesting.

Dinner last night my my uncle John and cousin Kristin; breakfast this morning with my uncle Michael (at Good Company Doughnuts & Cafe). When we drop Malia at American University tomorrow, we will be comforted to know she’ll be close to family.

In Washington D.C. to take Malia to college (at American University). Need to find the local bar where Liverpool fans will be for the ManU game tomorrow.

Erin and I went to dinner with Malia last night, her last in Chapel Hill before she embarks on college life in D.C. She went out with friends, Erin and I mixed gin & tonics and walked with dog (followed by cats) to our build site to measure the future rooms. #changes

A couple of years ago, I chopped down a few princess trees (Paulownia tomentosa) out in the woods. This is an invasive tree in North Carolina. When we cleared the spot for our new house, the seeds clearly got moved around because I’ve been pulling seedlings throughout the woods.

Paulownia tomentosa

Out for another walk and came across this, another type of millipede here in North Carolina.

millipede on sidewalk

Out for a walk.

Coffee and laptop on the screened porch on a still, cool Sunday morning. Hummingbird just visited the flowering ginger lily outside. I can hear the family gathering in the kitchen for breakfast.

Family movie night was Thirteen Lives, a dramatization of the dramatic cave-diving rescue mission in Thailand in 2018. We were on the edge of our seats. Holy shit what a story, movie, coming together of humanity.