Islanders teach their children the value of work....

Islanders teach their children the value of work - KPC Media Group: Kpcnews

Dear Friends,

Another Sunday morning on the Island. It is quiet except for the morning church bells calling folks out of cottages to attend services. 

Yesterday was full of visitors...mostly family members related to Philip in some way or other. The conversations were of Ocracoke long ago and now. Many other discussions followed about how folks were actually related...third cousins once removed?  No, my uncle's second cousin twice removed! Since I am not related to any of them, I could just shake my head and eat brownies!

The above is the link to this week's column! Enjoy. The following photos will help you see the story! Oh, I might add Sundae sent me a text saying she was not in charge of Bingo any more, but she was for a long time!

Hoisting the sail on the Wilma Lee

Susan's ice cream shop

Sundae Horn with her youngest child, Mariah Daisy

July Birthday Party!

Every year we celebrate the July birthdays in style on Ocracoke.

This year (as well as last) Philip and I hosted the party! It was wonderful grouping of friends for a pot luck dinner here at the house.

We took photos of all the birthday guests out in the yard surrounded by the bubble machine.

Let's see how many of these folks you recognize!!

How many Ocracoke folks do you know?

Learning to paint brings child-like joy...

Learning to paint brings child-like joy - KPC Media Group: Kpcnews

Last week I took my first ever painting class on Ocracoke Island with Mary Bassell. Mary is a wonderful artist and a very patient teacher.

She gives morning classes in her studio using pastels, and you actually come home with a painting.

I wrote the above article for my weekly column!  As always, enjoy!

I am showing off my painting with Mary!

My early morning birthday walk on Ocracoke Island.

Just in case you cannot view the video, here is also a photo I took this morning!

In celebration of my 1,000th blog post!

Dear Friends,

All of a sudden I realized that this post would be my 1,000th blog post! It is such a milestone for me!

I can't begin to mention all of the events and adventures that we have traveled on together.

Through all the joy and hardships over the past few years I have shared it with you through my writings, poems, and photographs!

I thank you deeply for enriching my life! So cheers to life and another 1,000 blog posts!

This short video was taken in Avon, North Carolina on the Outer Banks. Philip and I stopped at an art fair on our way home from the orthopedist. When I saw the hula hoops I immediately knew I wanted that for this post. My world does indeed go in circles!

Whereas I did not buy the hula hoop, the folks at spinfinite Designs were delighted to loan me one for my short video!  Enjoy and thank you again!

How can I end this post without a poem from Emily Dickinson?

That it will never come again

Is what makes life so sweet

Believing what we don't believe

Does not exhilarate.

That if it be, it be at best

An ablative estate--

This instigates an appetite

Precisely opposite

Emily Dickinson

1830-1886

A pair of Hoosiers get to meet out at sea...

A pair of Hoosiers get to meet out at sea - KPC Media Group: Kpcnews

The above headline is the link to this week's column about Andy Anderson. I had a great time hanging out with Andy one morning last week.

As always, enjoy!

 Andy Anderson and Edward Carlson

Lazy days on Ocracoke

Sometimes the days can seem pretty hectic on Ocracoke. There are ghost tours and the Opry. There are porch talks and dockside talks as well.

But once in a while silence falls upon the day and my time is spent watching dragonflies dance in the morning sun or stars twinkle in the evening sky.

The other day when my family was visiting we found ourselves playing at the beach. My little granddaughters tossed their crackers out to the seagulls. They laughed and laughed when the gulls swooped down.

I grabbed my camera and took this shot. It defines lazy days on Ocracoke.

Days of Wine and Roses

It is actually more like the days of Joe Bells and sand spurs during the lazy month of July. So let's talk. I would especially like to talk to new subscribers to my blog and welcome you.

My real name is Lou Ann, but I also go by Maggie Mae or Mad Mag. I am from the Midwest, Indiana to be exact, but of recent years have been spending summers on Ocracoke Island. (No, that is not in Australia!)

I am a  writer and storyteller by trade which makes for a very interesting career. In this field I travel a great deal, write and talk a lot, and listen profusely to what lives around me.

I make the best soup of anyone I know, tell more ghost stories than is allowed by law, and know the phases of the moon at any given moment.

I fiercely believe in family and have strong feelings about chocolate.

Sharing my thoughts and photography on this blog is just another way to tell stories.

And yes where I currently hang out my laundry the Joe Bells bloom and the wind blows the sand spurs right up into my clean clothes.

So, what about you?

Howard Street ghosts did more than haunt this tour...

Howard Street ghosts did more than haunt this tour - KPC Media Group: Kpcnews

Dear Friends,

I always find it difficult to type with just one hand, but here we go again!

Reading the above column might explain my absence of late. It was fun to write this week's column even with hunting and pecking out the keys!

If you have ever walked down Howard Street on Ocracoke Island in the dark of night, you will be able to picture this story!

Lou Ann

Another summer begins with sand and sea....

Another summer begins with sand, sea and PBJs - KPC Media Group: Kpcnews


Dear Folks,

I have been back on Ocracoke for a week and this is my first blog! How did I get so far behind?

Let me see..four girls from Indiana were here so we had a few Girls Only Nights!
I have already had two ghost walks, written and performed with Philip a new radio show for the Opry on Wednesday evening. I have also spent time reuniting with friends and getting used to having sand in my shoes!

Happy Solstice and Full Moon to all. Don't forget tonight is the Strawberry Moon which is the first full moon after the Solstice. It is also the Super Moon which means it is the moon closest to the Earth.

My family from all around the country will be joining us today so the full moon will get lots of attention from this Ocracoke crowd.

The above link is my column traveling to Ocracoke!

This photo was taken by a friend of mine. Three of us went to the beach to welcome in the Solstice yesterday morning.

Salutations!

Lou Ann

Stories are to be told with unearthed treasures....

Stories are to be told with unearthed treasures - KPC Media Group: Kpcnews

Dear Folks,

The above link is for this week's column about find treasures. I hope you enjoy it! I am on a search for the owner of a bracelet so let me know if you have any information or similar stories!

In one of my treasure boxes from my mom I received this photo among many other items! It was my sixth birthday. I am sitting next to my great-grandmother Berry. Enjoy the story.

Lou Ann Homan is Out and About at the Gene Stratton Porter Historic Site.

In order to know Gene Stratton Porter, I am going to quote from William Lyon Phelps. He wrote an article in 1913 for "Educator and Critic." Enjoy.


"Gene Stratton Porter lives in a swamp, arrays herself in man's clothes, and sallies forth in all weather to study the secrets of nature. I believe she knows every sound in the forest, and can tell you what caused it.

"She is primarily a naturalist, one of the foremost in America and has published a number of books on the flora and fauna illustrated with photos of her own taking.

"Thus she hit upon the plan of writing sentimental novels, in which her observation of nature is brought to the attention of America.

"She is as full of energy as Theodore Roosevelt, and as hearty an American. She is eaten up with ambition, and with the joy of life: few have more fun in their daily existence than she. I have no doubt that if the public  could see some of her letters which she receives by the cartloads they would share her belief that she has not lived in vain."

I have always loved her work, and because of it, I travel as a storyteller sharing her tales as a first person Gene Stratton Porter. This show is available at Arts for Learning in Indiana. It is especially beneficial to fourth grade students.

As always, thanks for reading. Maybe you know a little more than you did before!

My June Garden

June is the month for gardening, at least it is so in the Midwest. All the work of April and May finally pays off and the garden blooms. 

At my House at White Picket Gardens I have tried to build an English cottage garden in my back yard. I have also registered my yard with the National Wildlife Federation.

My back yard is full of flowers, herbs and lots of vegetables. All are tucked away in lovely little places. Sometimes it is a bit like a puzzle or a maze, if you will. 

With a rain barrel, compost heap, clothesline, small gardens and a fire ring, I have a small farm inside of town.

Here are a few photos from my early morning stroll through the gardens. With more rain predicted today, I will  plant the last of the lavender and a beautiful new coreopsis.

As always, thanks for reading and listening.

Tomorrow is a new Out and About, stay tuned!

Lou Ann

Golden Yarrow

Old-fashioned roses over birdhouse

Early June peas on the vine