SHUT the BACK DOOR!

I finally got the window on my van repaired I made 10 short videos of the process I hope to stitch them together on You tube,  so as not to use my data I will go to the library one day and do that! 

... since I got back from the weekend at the Pamlico Sound, I've been back to work on the deck area but not necessarily the deck, but the door that opens onto the deck...which is the front door that is in the back! LoL...Don't forget this house was moved to this location, this WAS the front of the house we chose to view our pasture rather than the dirt road that is the main artery in and out of the place, and lots of  heavy woods!!  So we like the view the other way,.

I don't have horses in my pasture right now...but I see plenty of these, this one has a very young fawn she beds down by the fence then she grazes, I can't spot him unless he gets up and he flushes so fast he is like a streak of brown. There is plenty of birds that land out in our pasture to hunt and pick around too, SO that's why the house is facing this direction so the back door was the front door---

I had to remove that ugly awning, and paint the storm door, the light fixture needed to be refurbished, the door trim had to be scraped and painted, and the storm door had to be screened. 

BEFORE:

here it is in the shady afternoon. BEFORE:

I don't really know why this ugly awning ended up here it is not original to this house...so off it comes!!  The little light fixture is original and so I will refinish it. Here's the front without the awning, I will plug up the holes that were left by the bolts holding the awning on with some matching caulk that I have on hand...

After Awning removed

I scraped the metal attic vent and door trim for painting and removed the light fixture. 

before 

when the other paint was drying I took the light fixture to my work bench for striping. It's copper so it has a lovely patina...

After

 glass cleaned and new wires in the fixture to wire to the house wire...

The storm door had rusted on the bottom, the screening was missing and the glass was in need of a good cleaning too.  

Before 
---
After

Below is a more in depth  on the screening process...

And the siding was dirty!! I had not been able to get to it since there was no sturdy floor on the deck for so long! 

I cleaned the siding, and spray painted the vent, I used some cardboard to keep over-spray from getting on the siding, there is some old paint smears from the awning, that need to be scraped off with some steel wool? I will do that when I get back up on the ladder to caulk.  After priming the door trim, I spray painted the storm door, inside and out. Also using cardboard and painting tape to protect the glass parts from over spray. 

Here is the storm door and door trim after painting...and after cleaning the siding.

I also painted all the flashing at the top edge of the decking white...I had used some brown and some aluminum flashing so now its all white!  

the storm door handle got a new coat of paint too.

and once it all dried it was time to clean  the bottom section of glass and put in new screening.   You need one of these spline rolling tools to properly sink the spline that holds screen wire in place into the channel where it fits

....here is how I did it, you can purchase a pack of spline that contains the 3 most popular sizes, its not expensive and choose the one that will fit in the groove where the screen sits...I found my size, also got some replacement screen I went with the fiberglass screening, and I put some tape to help hold it up..while I roll in the spline.

It's better to close the door so it doesn't swing back n forth when you are trying to push the spline in, after the screen is in position you use the roller to press the spline into place go easy if it slips it will cut the screening! I roll it in place then work about 6 inches of spline in at a time, when you get to the corners press it into the corner then continue rolling it into the channel where it fits snugly. 

Once you have pressed the spline all the way around into all 4 sides of the channel you can trim with a razor knife I stayed about 1/8 inch outside my spline.

Here it is with the screen in and the glass back in, now I can raise the glass and get a breeze when its nice outside...

The door and the whole entrance looks so much better!!

BEFORE

AFTER 

I decided I don't need an awning, if it turns out I do, I think I'll make some like I did for the screen porch...

I did finally cut those Azelea's down almost to the ground they were so out of control...much better now...Sorry no photo of that at this point..

NOW I just have to get the steps on and the railings up!!
SO FAR SO GOOD!  Today I pressured washed the entire exterior of the house! Glad that's done for another year

PEACE

Eleanor Roosevelt: You must do the thing you think you can not.

Swanquarter

Sunday had me leaving Pettigrew State Park early and by 8 am I was on my way South.  Back on HWY 94.  Before it reaches the Mattamuskeet area again it passes through Pososin Lakes NWR. There is a great number of Black Bear living in this area, but mostly over on the western side in the Pungo Unit, which I did not get to visit.  I stopped at the Atlantic Intercoastal Waterway Bridge for a photo.

The view from the top is magnificent but one can not stop and take photos...

SO I snapped this Hail Mary shot, you can get a feel for how breath taking it was...with the Pocosin, the forest, and the Pungo River far below.  I was making tracks because I needed to be home in time to help Mom on Sunday evening as my sister was leaving there about 1, and home was a little over 5 hrs South.  I planned a stop in SwanQuarter.  

There was some interesting roadside things going on like this...

OUCH!

Once off 94 back onto the Abemarle Highway, (264) I headed in a Westerly direction then took a South turn to Swanquarter, a sleepy fishing village just on the edge of the Pamlico Sound.  I would enjoy returning to take the ferry across to the Outer Banks and the Ocracoke Lighthouse.  I did not get to see it when I went to the OBX last summer due to time constaints...the only way there is by ferry.  Maybe I can combo this with my next trip up to Visit Pungo and Alligator NWR. Dramamine will be necessary, actually I use Bonnie, it worked for me last time I needed it. 

The village is built around fishing and by the looks of it hard times have hit! 

The town does not cater to tourism, no galleries, no eateries, no hip saloons.  Going down Main St, Hwy 45, takes you to the Swanquarter Ferry mentioned above.  I stopped in the Park to enjoy the view eat a quick bite and scan with my binoculars.  A couple of birds seen: Blue Jay, Morning Doves, Red -Winged Blackbirds, Grackles, and Eur. Starlings. I didnt see any Swans, I guess its the wrong time of yr for them  Winter is the best time to visit this area as wintering waterfowl come by the thousands...so maybe my next trip up here can be in winter. 


Lunch Spot at the park

Then I entered SwanQuarter NWR

 the road into the Wildlife Refuge,  is a rutted 2 mile dirt track with many wildflowers along the roadside, like Butterfly weed, 

Brown Swallowtail on Butterfly weed

And this,  Hibiscus Moscheutos was blooming all along the drive...

At the end of the road is the Bell Island Fishing per its 1,000 ft long!! 

You can see people way out there...I didnt walk the "Plank" I had to get going! Didn't see many interesting birds,  a few Laughing gulls, one Fosters Tern, many RW Blackbirds, ...quite a vanishing point!  Wish I had hit this at low tide, may have seen some peeps then.

and a peek at the coastline..

I really wished for more time, I could spend the rest of my life exploring this region alone!! SO Much to see.  I like that these areas have been reserved for wildlife and people like me who would otherwise be shut out of these areas if it was developed with McMansions.  NC has done a much better job of protecting its shoreline from over developing than SC has.  

Spotted on the wire this Blue Grosbeak...female

The journey home proved to be a challenge! At Fayetteville, NC on I-95, the traffic came to a complete stop at exit 87. In 45 minutes time I probably moved 15 ft. Since I was sitting directly by an entrance ramp the little dark angel on my shoulder said "get off this interstate it is not going to move! SO I whipped a U-E and went out the inny! And others followed...up on the street I made a right turn,  Wilma was no help finding me an alternate route so out comes my 1995 road atlas and I mapped my way to Lumberton via back roads and got back on I-95 forty miles down the road there.  

I had some challenges on this weekend road trip but I managed to overcome all of them and had a great time full of new experiences!

Time Well Spent!

 

 PEACE

Eleanor Roosevelt: You must do the thing you think you can not.

Pettigrew and Somerset

when last I wrote I was parked at Pettigrew State Park, in site 10 and yes it really was available and I liked it fine...I did not bring my full camping "kit" only the necessary stuff to make coffee, I stopped at a Food Lion and got a pre-made salad to eat for dinner, along with some precut fruit.  It was the perfect meal since I was still not 100% after the bout of dizzy accompanied with vomiting in the morning!  If you have never had a serious case of Vertigo let me tell you..omg well I've had it all my adult life and so do my 2 sisters!! We all can sympathize with each other on that one.  And a side note Dogs can suffer a similar aliment and I witnessed my dog Casey have it one night! Its called Vestibular Disorder.  If you ever see your dog staggering and unable to walk straight holding head to one side with some other symptoms, suspect this. 

------------------

This park is like "circle the wagons", nothing fancy just a spot to park, 

 I was thrilled to find out Pettigrew State Park had a boardwalk! 

As you see it passes over a swamp/marsh area and then it brings you to the Phelps Lake...

And it is a lovely lake!  At the end of this dock is a swimming area, I was told the water was warm, I didn't even bring a swim suit..

So after I ate and settled up with the ranger I took a stroll and it was so nice to be in the woods, listen to this most beautiful song of the wood thrush.  Turn your volume up so you can enjoy this woodsy lyric.

Lots of laughing gulls hung around the swimming area, 

and that's why they have Al on guard...

...and what did the gulls think of him??  They don't call them laughing gulls for nothing!

the moon was out above the lake....it was so peaceful I had the dock all to myself while the smell of campfire food wafted from the nearby campground..as the families prepared their evening meals.

Right next door to the State Park is a State Historic Site, Somerset Place.  A working plantation from 1785 - 1865  and at one time had as many as 850 enslaved people living there!   This is the main dwelling...the Collins House.  

I was there after hours so I was not able to go inside any of the buildings...but I did some window peeking...

and stair climbing..

I liked the formal garden...and the carriage lane... 

It follows this white picket fence bringing visitors to the Antebellum Mansion's side entrance, you can almost imagine the impressive scene with the huge Phelps Lake visible across the front lawn...

It was getting late and the mosquitoes came out so I headed back to my campsite, but I turned to see the moon hanging over Somerset...

Fireflies lit my way via the carriage trail that leads back to the campground...and I snapped a zoom in of the Full  Summer Solstice Moon

The small campground was quiet and I slept very well...awoke early and took a stroll once again to the lake with my morning coffee in hand to the boat launch area...

  

The boardwalk actually ends here but I had turned around last night and didn't come all the way to the end..so I did this short piece just after dawn...morning in the swamp is really pretty.

watched a red admiral and then enjoyed some plants in the morning light...

I think this is called Lizard's Tail.

This Button Brush reminds me of a fully loaded pin cushion...or that odd horror film villain pin head-

enjoyed this Northern Cardinal against all the green..

I left early on Sunday as I had planned to drive slowly over the Pocosin Lakes Area, and then make a visit to Swanquarter NWR before making my 5 hr drive home! 

PEACE

Eleanor Roosevelt: You must do the thing you think you can not.