I propose that weird stuff is the Outer Bank’s main export. Not that its a bad thing. Its just like Jimmy Buffett said; If we weren’t all crazy we would go insane.
Why?
This guy thinks he embarrassed his kid? He could do better. I know. My dad has 20 years of it under his belt.
Well, its simple. The past week. First, I saw this guy at a local souvenir shop I used to visit as a kid: He found the mask and put it on to embarrass his kid. He started growling because he apparently didn’t realize what it was that he put on his head. Half way though his charade he realized it and said “Oh. Wait I’m a Unicorn.” It must’ve been hard to see in that mask because his red faced kid was already around the corner, and he didn’t see that guy right behind him laughing, taking a picture of his madness.
Second, pretzel cone. Yes this happened. Its not weird in the fact that it was bad, in fact it was really good.
Cone in a cone. Cone-ception.
Its just weird for the fact that I never would have thought of it, but looking back on it how could I not have before? That ice cream was good. Now its messing with my mind.
Third, this:
Life is just a (buoy?) tire swing.
A buoy tire swing. Only on a coastal town. I pass it every time I go running on the weekends.
Finally, as I was finishing up my bug traps at work, I decided to get up and go inside for a cold drink as it was so hot, my face was melting off. I walk back out to finish it, and a spider was trapped in it. It wasn’t baited yet, it wasn’t set up, it wasn’t even finished. I let the little guy go to weave a web another day…and perhaps fall victim to the trap he was once released from.
Oh the irony.
Stuff In the Key of Other.
Jazzy, right? I just came up with that. I’m currently listening to EW&F. Anyways, other stuff happened like kayaking. Yes, again. This time I almost got caught out in a thunderstorm. The surf was a little choppy, but I’ve handled rough waters before, so it was fun. It added some excitement. And cool clouds.
Cool clouds can seem very ominous when you’re in a boat the size of a folding table.
Something else I noticed is that the guy in the Ice Cream Shop down the road (different than the one with the pretzel cone) claims he has the best ice cream on the island. Its not homemade ice cream though, or even independently made. Its Hershey’s ice cream. Now, I’m not saying its bad ice cream (in fact it was quite good)or that the man shouldn’t try to bump up his business how he can, but in a way that’s like me saying I make the best pasta and all I do is heat up some Chef Boyardee.
No offense to the chef.
Fourth of July was great. The parent Wufs came down. We watched the fire works in Manteo just like we always do. The concert before hand was awesome too. It was put on by an army band that included a small rock group called the Minute Men, and Jazz ensemble called the Jazz Patriots, and a Concert band. No snappy name for the concert band. From one musician to others; You guys were excellent, and thank you for your service.
Workin’
As you may infer from above, the bug traps I’ve been working on for weeks are finally done and they’ll be set up this coming Wednesday. Finally! These will be the second major project I have completed.
The past couple of interning days, we have gone to Buxton Woods to do various things. The last three times I have been attacked by seed ticks. Seed ticks are much like regular ticks. They’re bugs, brownish red, and like to eat things that are human tasting. Particularly me; so much so that my co-intern has decided to give me the nickname sweet meat. However, seed ticks are tiny and attack in numbers. The second time was real bad. So much so, that my legs were covered in them from the knees down. Luckily, I was wearing boots. The boots are now soaking in bleach to be de-ticked.
At work, the reason I’ve been making these insect traps is to survey what kinds of bugs we have at the sites. I typically have to capture the bugs (by hand up until now) to be able to identify them as the whole they can fly and I can’t thing makes it hard to do. There are red dragonflies though that I have been struggling to catch. Any other dragonfly or damselfly I can catch. You point to it, hand me a net, and that species is mine. But these red ones, they’re too quick! The second I get with in range with a net they get away. I have resolved to make it my mission to catch one of these elusive buggers (excuse the pun) and catalog them.
Well, that’s all folks. I’ll try and update more weekly. Between the net acting up and my parents coming to town , I had to make this another two weeker, but I should be back to the regular schedule this week. Thanks for reading.
I’m happy, and I hope you’re happy too.
Coasting Through Summer 
Everybody knows the proper way to embarrass your kid while wearing a unicorn head is to do the Macarena. Growling? Yeesh, what an amateur.
I hope the speed of red dragonflies comes up on a trivia quiz some time. I’m learning a lot here!
You’re a pro. Is that air speed velocity laden or unladen though?
Depends on the relative humidity and the phase of the moon. Hey, wait a minute! . . .Are you trying to get me to do your homework?
No, but if you could tell me when two trains will meet if they are fifty miles apart and one leaves the station at 5 mph and the other at 10 mph, that would be awesome.
Are these African trains or European trains? If they’re DC metro trains, take whatever time they’re supposed to meet and add at least 30 minutes. In DC it’s a simple question of wait ratios.
Cool thing: I was stopped at a traffic light yesterday morning three blocks from the White House and a dragonfly, red(dish) in nature, appeared out of nowhere and performed a little song and dance routine in front of my windshield.
Ah, I see what you did there. Really? Top hat and cane kinda thing?
Keep in mind that my potential is limitless. There is only floor, but no ceiling on what I’m capable of doing to embarass you. As I get older, I also have a new excuse for my behavior.
Iron Chef Boyardee?
I don’t doubt your limitless potential. I find that it is a fruitless struggle to embarrass a parent. I just roll with it and laugh along with it as much as I can.
Chef Boyardee should be amongst them. He should at least have one of those big posters like in the classic one of him holding some food. I’m thinking he’d hold a soggy noodle.
I don’t know much about spiders’ faces – I usually don’t give them time to react. But if you look at the face of this ambitious little guy, doesn’t he look very surprised? I may never look the same way at a spider again.
P.S. In the land of wierd stuff, perhaps that swing is in the yard of Chef Bouyardee?
Yeah, jumping spiders typically have two large front eyes amongst their six others, so it always looks to me like their surprised or sad in a cartoonish way. Ha ha
News of his death was greatly exaggerated, eh? He is in fact living a peaceful coastal town life! Its a food conspiracy!
Also, just want to add that it was terrific seeing you on the 4th!! “You look marvelous!”
The band concert sounds awesome — I would have totally loved seeing and hearing that! The spider? Not so much.
It was a great concert. The spider though was just a little jumping spider. I still don’t like some spiders, but I work with them better than slugs or roaches.