With all of my business obligations taken care of, I have nothing better to do but enjoy my last few weeks on the Outer Banks. Each day seems to present me with a new experience. Yesterday, when I left the house to meet a friend for lunch I smelled smoke. A bit later, when I left the restaurant, the smell of smoke was even more pervasive and ash was floating through the air. Strange, I thought, but I dismissed it as probably a house on fire.

This morning I woke to a view of dense fog hanging over the treetops and curling its fingers through the shrubbery in my back yard. How pretty, I thought, until I stepped outside and again smelled smoke. This time it was much stronger and I realized that instead of fog, I was looking at smoke.

Since I have no TV and get poor Internet reception with my AirCard way back in the woods where my house is located, I drove to my favorite local coffee shop, the Front Porch Cafe, to find out what was up. On the way I passed the entrance to the Nature Conservancy at Nags Head Woods. A slight movement by the side of the road caught my eye, and I backed up to check it out. Pressed up against the concrete curb bordering the entrance to the Nature Conservancy was an enormous Eastern Carolina Box Turtle. She was leaning against the curb, using it as Continue reading →

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