Visiting Moms Grave 5' 31

 On May 31st, all four sisters traveled to the Arlington National Cemetery to visit our Mother's Grave 

and bring her some flowers. 

   It was a sobering moment,

that left us all in tears.

We will love you and miss you always.

Culprit IV 5 '14

Culprit  IV

Yesterday we caught  the adolescent we had seen during the first night's rad on our potted plants  That was Culprit III.  Last night... the other young adult who was hanging around  with it (Culprit IV) was also captured. .... but not before it unearthed my poor herbs.  Both have been  relocated:  I hope they are enjoying their new home far far away from my garden.

Captured Culprit II 5 '14

 



Devastation

I woke up to find all the potted herbs uprooted again and the soil scattered around .  The critters aren't eating the herbs, and there aren't any bulbs or other tasty things in the soil, so I can't imagine what they are looking for..  Bruce did trap the critter but not before he had done some damage. At least he had the decency to look like he regretted his actions.

Culprit II

This too is a adult raccoon, so we know there is at least one more lurking around in the woods behind us.  So we'll be setting out the trap again tonight. 

Caught the Culprit 5 '14

Culprit I

Kat alerted us early in the evening that something  was on our back porch, by letting out a series of long unwelcoming growls.  Turning on a flashlight, we found a very young skinny gray and black raccoon standing in a herb pot.  It took off when Kat tried( unsuccessfully)  to charged it through the screen door.  That was enough of a warning of what was going to happen to my newly repotted plants for BJ to set out his trap.

 

Sometime in the middle of the night the trap caught the culprit....  As suspected, the villain is a raccoon.. except it wasn't the young one we'd seen early.  This  animal is a full blown healthy  adult.  It managed to uproot a few herbs again before it got scent of the bowl of cat food BJ used to lure it into the cage.  From the size and gloss of its coat , I would say it has been raiding more than my herb pots.  To get this fat it has to have been eating  out of the local dumpsters.   Bruce is taking it to one of the local wildlife management areas to release it.   We'll try again tonight for it's little brother.

Culprit I doesn't look very repentant.

 

Happy Mother's Day 5 '14

I had a very small selection of herbs plant

Potted herbs in planter

ed in pots outside the Carolina Room.   Nothing fancy .. just the basics rosemary, thyme  marjoram, basil  and parsley.  I woke up this morning to find every single one of them had been uprooted and their potting soil spread all over the porch. This is actually the second time those pots have been ransacked this week, but the first time the culprit only uprooted one small rosemary.  This time it ravaged the entire herb garden.  I am so P.O. ed

Ravaged herb planter

The good news is that it only uprooted the herbs whole, and did  not eat them, so I was able to repot them.  The even better news is that I was planning on planting some flowers in pots to attract butterflies, so  pot gardening was already on my to do list for the day... Just not this much pot gardening.  

 

Repotted  with some flowers to attract Humming Birds and butterflies

The flowers were my Mother's Day gift.

Equally good is that the critter(s) did not go near any of the small herb and flower  planters I have along the front walkway to the house.

Front entry garden

The bad news is that I fear the critter will return.  We think it is probably a raccoon hoping to find a bulb to snack on ( there aren't any).  Bruce is going to  try to capture it with his havahart trap tonight

OMG Not Plein Air painting on these roadways anymore 5 '14

OMG!   I AM NOT Plein Air painting near any of these 'scenic ponds" anymore

Check out the size of this alligator.. It's absolutely Jurassic!

http://www.wltx.com/story/news/2014/05/05/huge-gator-seen-crossing-road-near-coast/8732793/

Golf at Waterways Hills Golf Course 5 ' 14

BJ Celebrating his Bday

We had planned on playing a nice round of golf Bruce's Birthday, but the mother nature didn't cooperate.  Rather than trying to play in the midst of a deluge, we postponed the celebration a few days until the greens had had a chance to dry out.   Of course there was always the risk that the greens would be packed with golfers as soon as the skies cleared.  We reasoned that Cinco de Mayo might be  a good choice of dates.. the more people in the pubs singing  'Margaritaville', the fewer  would be on the links.  The gamble paid off.  While the pubs were packed, the fairways were relatively empty.





We choice to play  Waterways Hills Golf Course in North Myrtle Beach .  The adventure starts with a gondola ride across the intercoastal waterway.  How cool is that!



The gondolas are all equipped with special carriers for four sets of golf bags

The ride across provides great views of the Intercoastal  Waterway

And a great overview of Waterway Hills with its three(3) Nine hole courses. ( 27 holes total).

We were paired up with a father and son from Ontario Canada to play eighteen holes on two of the courses ( the Lakes and the Ravine).  Both were  challenging courses with lots of water, and obstacles. Bruce had a great time, and drove really well

View of the Intercoastal Waterway

So did I... well I drove the cart well anyway.  I decide that it was too beautiful there to waste my attention entirely on chasing a little pink ball around, so I only played every other hole, and spent the rest of the time taking photos of the Intercoastal scenery.



Sailboat on the Intercoastal

And of the local wildlife (especially the baby Fox Squirrels)

The Cute Fox Squirrels were playing chase with one another everywhere.

You can learn more about Waterway Hills Golf Course at:
http://waterwayhillsgolfclub.com/ 

BJ's Gluten Free Lasagna 5 '14

BJ made the most wonderful Gluten Free Chicken Lasagna for dinner tonight.  Who knew that GF could taste so good.