May 21

Today is supposed to be the day the faithful will be caught up to meet the returning Lord in the sky. The rapture. In spite of the photo, I am sad to report that I was not taken up. Drat! Left behind! Looks like I'll be spending a few more years right here on earth with the rest of the heathens. That's okay. I didn't want to leave my friends just yet!!! Actually, I do not ascribe to the "rapture" stuff. My humble opinion: a misinterpretation of scripture. We'll all just have to keep on keeping on and doing the best we can.

It's like music

Actually it sounds exactly like a space ship in a 50s sci-fi movie. The cicadas have emerged and they are singing their little heads off. What we have here are the 13 Year variety, also known as Brood XIX (nineteen) or Magicicada. They are absolutely docile but really noisy. In fact in the afternoons around here they are downright deafening. So much for the quiet country life. The summer that Malcolm was born in DC the 17 Year cicadas came out. They were bigger than this group and had a different song. Interesting creatures. If you want to hear them for yourself, go to the link. Mike recorded them:

The Goose Family

The eggs hatched. Well, at least 2 of them. I saw the little gooselets in the nest but couldn't get a good picture. I didn't want to upset momma. Daddy was standing guard nearby...I'm glad he was there for the delivery. They are very devoted parents.

In Memory of Kitty Girl

Our sweet old cat passed away. She stopped eating and drinking over the weekend, so I figured she was winding down. We got her from Second Chance adoptions about 12 years ago. She was an adult cat at that time, at least a couple years old, so we're thinking she was about 15 or 16 years old. A decent age for an indoor-outdoor cat. She was super smart, a great mouser, very well behaved, and so loyal. Me, Mike and Mal were with her when she took her last breath. We called Bertie to let her know and she came right over. We put Kitty Girl in a paper bag because she loved to sleep in grocery bags and buried her under her favorite tree. Mike delivered the appropriate eulogy. The kids were more emotional than I thought they would be, then I remembered they had practically grown up with Kitty Girl. She was a special cat. We'll miss her.

Mother Goose

A Canadian Goose has taken up residence at the office where I work...she built a nest and laid 4 eggs in one of the planter boxes out back. I'm surprised she picked such a public area to take up housekeeping...seems like she would have found a quieter place to raise a family. But, that's okay. I enjoy seeing her each morning when I walk to the building from the parking lot. I just hope she and the babies will be okay. More animal news: my daughter adopted a rottweiler-lab puppy. She's going to be huge. Her name is Early. My other granddog, Daisy, just loves her. They are such good dogs, smart and sweet and much better behaved than my cats who are all in need of therapy. We have been having some crazy wild weather lately. But today is absolutely beautiful. Happy Easter!

Me, Beth and Molly

Molly and her husband, Don, have a cute little condo on the sound near the aquarium. We had a wonderful brunch at their place. Beth took us on a tour of Swannsboro the next day and we ate at the Icehouse. She has a place that she is renovating, all by herself, I might add...what a woman! She also has a permit to drive on the beach, so we took a drive. YeeHaw!

More Beach Pictures

Here we are on Emerald Isle. We were on a narrow strip of island...between the ocean and the sound. This is the place we stayed. Thank you very much, Adele and Greg!