This possum ain't playin'

Dead opossum in back yard provided breakfast for turkey vulture.  Gruesome. 

Missed subsequent great photo opp that Tim pointed out: vulture sitting like grim figurehead at front peak of detached garage (a.k.a. "boathouse"). It flew away as I was lining up the shot.

While running errands, we could see rain coming in, and I came up with an original good ol' Carolina sayin':  "A dry possum is lighter than a wet possum."  Nothing like an F150 to bring on the back-country muse.

So, when we returned, before the rain fell Tim bravely scooped up the pitiful carcass with a shovel and dumped it in the Wild. I tried to steel myself to do this, which I figured was an obligation of a Woman of the Croatan.  But, couldn't, quite (its sad little feet....!). I did watch stoically, with a garden hoe, in case Tim needed back-up, and thanked him.

From Wikipedia:  "An early description of the opossum comes from explorer John Smith, who wrote in Map of Virginia, with a Description of the Countrey, the Commodities, People, Government and Religion in 1608 that 'An Opassom hath an head like a Swine, and a taile like a Rat, and is of the bignes of a Cat. Under her belly she hath a bagge, wherein she lodgeth, carrieth, and sucketh her young.'"

Pax vobiscum, hodge-podge marsupial.

Newcomer Humor

My new license plate:

And, in the spirit of lighthearted regional stereotyping, I will share with you notes and advice for people from other parts of the country who've moved to the South, transcribed from the Message of the President of the Newcomers Club of New Bern in the February newsletter:

- If you run your car into a ditch, don't panic. Four men in a pick-up truck with a tow chain will be along shortly.  Don't try to help them. Just stay out of their way. This is what they live for.

- Don't be surprised to find movie rentals and bait in the same store. Do not buy food at this store.

- Remember, "y'all" is singular, "all y'all" is plural, and "all y'all's" is plural possessive.

- Save bacon grease.  You will be instructed later how to use it.

- Be advised that "He needed killin'" is a valid defense here.

- If you hear a Southerner exclaim, "Hey, y'all, watch this," you should stay out of the way.

- If there is the prediction of the slightest chance of even the smallest accumulation of snow, your presence is required at the local grocery store. It doesn't matter if you need anything or not; you just have to go there.

- Don't be surprised to find that 10-year-olds own their own shotguns, and that they are proficient sharpshooters. Their mammas taught them how to aim.

- If you move to the South from elsewhere, settle down, and have chilren there, don't think we'll accept them as Southerners. After all, if the cat had kittens in the oven, we ain't gonna calll 'em biscuits.

Come to think of it, much of that applies to parts of Western Massachusetts, eh?

New window seat cushions

Even though we can't get the doorbell to work and we can't put the truck in the garage because it's so full of stuff that we need to haul away, at least one Home Improvement project worked out great -- probably because someone else did it. Shannon O'Neal of The Recovery Room in Morehead City made these custom

window seat cushions for a guest room...

...receiving Cat Seal of Approval!

5 inches of snow

Geese

If you look closely (I wish I'd had a telephoto lens), you can see a couple of geese, this pair representative of the 10 to 12 that occasionally come to our back yard to eat (we must have grubs in the lawn) and snooze. Maggie, at a safe distance and under constant supervision, is intrigued by these visitors.

Welcome

Sandie the welcome wagon lady visited us.  We got some gift certificates for discounts to restaurants, a carpet store, and salons; a free medicine spoon, toothbrush, and jar lid gripper; and newsletters from the arts council and parks and recreation. We were also invited to the Newcomers Club meeting next week.  The Twin Rivers Shag Club --no affiliation with Austin Powers -- will be giving a demonstration.   There is a wine tasting sub-group of the Newcomers, in addition to groups for various crafts, mahjong, boating, etc. 

Do you think there will be bus trips to Bruce Springsteen concerts in Jersey?

We heard a rumor from Sandie that the attractive yet empty-since-constructed restaurant property on the Neuse is under contract. Hope to enjoy a Yuengling Light and a river breeze on its deck some hot day--if not this July, then maybe September....

This morning, went to the Farmers Market.  Got a sweet potato muffin from Miss Sarah, some dried Thai peppers from 'R Garden, and a bottle of award-winning, hand-crafted barbecue sauce. You can put it on butter pecan ice cream, the man said.

Welcome to Eastern North Carolina.

Sweet Carolina/Sweet Caroline: reminders of New England

"Wasn't there a dock around here somewhere?"

Gail and Barry "The Big Dog" Murphy's arrival in New Bern from the Cape coincided with the arrival of New England-style weather. No snow, but  rain and a glaze of ice. Churches cancelled services Sunday--which around here is saying something.

Saturday, we had lunch at The Chelsea and did a quick auto tour of town and assorted golf courses. On Saturday night, the city's public safety teams were out in force keeping cars off the cloverleaf-style ramps of the highways, blocking them with fire engines to keep unpracticed local drivers away from potentially slippery conditions.

Last night saw Livingston Taylor, who also came all the way from New England to give a concert in celebration of the city's 300th anniversary.

Taylor's great-great-great grandfather, Isaac Taylor, lived in New Bern. His descendant was an admirable combination of clever and funny, professionally smooth and "aw shucks" engaging, with quite a good voice, still. (Check out his Vineyard retreat!) Unable to travel earlier because of weather, he'd left Boston at 5 a.m. to arrive in New Bern at 5 p.m. that day, much to the gratitude of the Historical Society which had sold 600 or so tickets. At times we've thought we were the oldest people at a show; this was not the case last night.

Speaking of Boston, we got a little sentimental when the lounge act at Ratty's sang the Red Sox anthem, "Sweet Caroline." As opposed to Livingston Taylor's "Carolina Day," which he performed.

But, we are putting down our roots. We tried out the pleasantly gritty underground bar at the otherwise elegant Harvey Mansion. We've been given hope by 37th Street that we can find satisfactory pizza in these parts. And, newly equipped with new NC driver's licenses, today we can get NC plates for the cars.