He takes advantage of us and steals the fisherman's bait! He later catches the fish they threw back.

Island holiday means one thing to Earl, fishing in the surf non-stop.

Princess is now "Her Majesty"

Princess turned 16 years old this month. A neighbor suggested we now call her "Her Majesty" in honor of her years and wisdom.

Summer Reading

The Best Kids read to Earl and he listens intently...

Mamaw boards a boat to Masonboro Island

Right as we got to the pier to board the boat, Ella ran down the gangplank and stopped on the edge of the dock! Everyone said "Whew, thought she was going in the water..!" And then she - Jumped off the dock into the water and sank like a rock! Keith yanked her into the boat and she obediently sat still for the rest of the ride over to the island!








Ella dragged Mamaw to the surf...







Earl "fished" most of the time, while Ella attempted to swim out to some surfers.

too hot to go outside

Ella and Pappy

new girl friend

Sydney is the new puppy on the block. She's 6 months old, and this was her first boat ride. I showed her how to eat jelly fish and run in the water.

last sunset of summer

cruisin'

cruisin' with the big sister

last of the summer evening cruises

swimming the channel

Following beside Hank, Dad and I swim over to the island.



going back for Dad

the passing storm

Our Earl is a strong yet gentle and obedient animal. When we heard that this storm was named "Earl" everyone made mention that with a name like that it would be too laid back to do any damage. For the most part Hurricane Earl was a lot like salty dawg Earl...




As it turned out, the hurricane, pronounced "hairikun", just passed us by. We didn't get but a few drops of rain. Still, I did my annual "storm cleaning", not to be confused with spring cleaning. And we went through the drill of moving all the porch furniture in, and anything else that could go airborne in a tropical breeze.







Hank took these photos Thursday 2 September.
Almost as many people came to see the ocean, as they do on a bright sunny day. There was a traffic jam heading off the island at sunset.

Hurricane Earl

since Earl has come to live with us, this is the first storm threat we've had.
...and it's moinker is "Earl". The most laid-back gentle labrador, now has a storm named after him.
Last hurricane season produced nothing that headed toward our coast.

As of now (2 Sept) this a strong storm.
Hopefully that northerly turn will happen soon.

on a boat with Ella

sprinkler joy

three amigos

my new disquise

Would you recognize me with a moustache and in boots?

Happy 5th of July

can you find me?

Princess loves the fourth of July, I mean loves it. The fireworks are her favorite thing on earth. She runs around barking and wagging her tail. If ever she hears a sound that is similar to the noise that a firework display makes, she will run to the window and look up into the sky. This all stems from Hank teaching her to chase bottle rockets down our street, that first Independence Day, we had her, in 1999!