Drove the red Ranger to Pittsboro for a cortado at Aromatic Roasters and garden supplies at Chatham Farm Supply. Back home I planted coneflower and black-eyed susans. Sitting on front porch with a cold beer.
Last day for this visit to St. Croix. In my hammock at our favorite, empty beach. So calm and peaceful. I relaxed. Needed this vacation. Will be rested for a work (and more) next week.
At Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge; gates are opened for a brief time so locals can go for an afternoon of fishing. Good to see the nest counts. I was here 37 years ago to watch a leatherback turtle drop her eggs into the sand. Amazing animals.
Just paged through the 1984 yearbook of The Good Hope School here on St. Croix. I was in the eighth grade (my younger brothers attended and my mother was a teacher). #memorylane
My step-brother Aaron is co-founder of Leatherback Brewing in The US Virgin Islands. He is looking for a manager of the St Thomas brewery/bar/restaurant. Great opportunity. Great beer. Beautiful beaches.
A beautiful sunset over the Caribbean Sea. Now, more than an hour later, the sky that way is glowing white, perhaps reflecting light from Puerto Rico. I don’t recall seeing this in past years.
Learning about the red-tailed boa on St. Croix, snakes on the loose.
My first beach read for this week on St. Croix was Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. Read it fast, and enjoyed it, as eerie as it was to be reading a post-pandemic novel in the midst of a real pandemic.
Sprat Hall Beach, west end of St. Croix, U.S.V.I.
Waking up on St. Croix.
Went for a walk with the puppy in the woods yesterday, then pulled off another tick last night - lone star on my leg - so reading up again on tick-borne diseases and reminding the family to check themselves each night.
Got my nose plumbed for SARS-CoV-2 yesterday, and received a negative result by dinner, so I submitted my details to the USVI travel screening portal. Am excited to get back to St. Croix this weekend, visit family and my favorite beach, and walk through Frederiksted.
Oliver used some of his birthday cash to buy a Rubik’s cube. He’s already figured out how to solve it. In my youth I never once accomplished that. (YouTube and the wisdom of the crowd helped Oliver.)
Weekend activities:
- Drive to UNC Greensboro to visit Anna.
- Take a load of junk to the county recycling center.
- Enjoy coffee from 2 cafes.
- Help Erin and Malia hang lights around the fire pit.
- Clean chicken coop, add new pine shavings.
- Sit at fire pit with friends.
Camping solo in the back woods tonight. Family walked out to join me around the fire. Now I am alone, full moon rising, air cooling. Soon will be time to climb into the hammock tent to sleep.
Awesome reference! My copy of The Weblog Handbook is always at hand. @terrygrier
Birthday brunch to celebrate Erin. I made cinnamon rolls and they were a hit. Now we’re in the front yard for games and relaxation. Beautiful day in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
The view from my grill. Looks out onto the back acres of our lots and the stack of lumber from when we milled the blackjack and white oak.
I just feel good. The week at work was nonstop and rewarding. Family gathering in the house is renewing. The world outside is glowing green. And dose 2 of the COVID vaccine is making me stronger by the minute. And scanning the Micro.blog timeline makes me grateful for community.