It's already late but hopefully those last minute travelers will be interested in enjoying this little family cottage.
It has been quite awhile since I've managed to write anything because my life has been turned upside-down by being practically volunteered to help raise two children for a dear friend of mine. Since January 2015, I have been raising a now 4 year old girl and since April 2015, I started raising her 13week old brother. Thus I have been rather distracted with the day to day dealings of this impromptu family and their biological kin.
It's already late but hopefully those last minute travelers will be interested in enjoying this little family cottage.
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After 2012 tumultuous hurricane season once again changing access to highway 12 for quite awhile, we managed to make it through the winter alive and hanging in there. Thank goodness that the winds of winter are virtually over so the north easterly winds no longer manage to push ocean water across the highway in Ocracoke, Buxton, Rodanthe and Pea Island. It tended to be a bit of a challenge to travel off-islands especially for the school kids that participated in sporting activities. The NC Ferry Division kept up with the travel demands and the NC highway dept eventually allowed 4 wheel drive access where the road was often assaulted in Rodanthe.
The highway troubles merged with the beach-access troubles and managed to slow tourism down to a crawl through the winter thus making my work fraught with cancellations and money very rare. The cottage budget was also challenged so I didn't renew VRBO right away but I intend to do so once I am sure that maintenance & repairs are all completed and paid for. Thanks for your patience and perseverance renting this property and finding Nirvana here on Hatteras Island. . Now that summer is here, there are no worries about a flooding highway. No worries about becoming stranded on Hatteras or no worries about waiting for the ferry in Manns Harbor. No worries at all. The highway is back in shape. Businesses are face-lifted. New and old sights mingle. No worries mates! Come for a visit and rest your self for awhile rocking on the porch at NirvanaHatteras!! Call me to confirm dates & vacancies. It's already the end of August which usually brings us weather from the tropics. That's part of the joy of living at a sub-tropical boundary. There's palmetto plants in the woods that don't grow very far north of here as well as trees that stay green year around such as hollies and we have palmetto bugs as well. The palmetto bug is something that the realtor usually hesitates to disclose. Just think giant flying roach-like critter. They are attracted to moist, humid, warm climates. Aren't we so lucky? Hurricanes & water-bugs. UGH! This is also the time of year where we survey our yards and clean up or clear out anything that might blow or float away. If we don't do it beforehand then there's a chance a storm might do it for us. After Hurricane Irene's effects, I just as soon skip this years tropical welcome. ^^ The picture above is taken at the lighthouse/jetties that are at the original lighthouse site. It's taken a few weeks after hurricane irene of 2011. Not much beach there at that time. It recedes and grows with each shifting tide & wind. Every year, Nature unleashes it's cleansing powers to reshape not only the island but our attitudes & consciousness. As the main tourist season grows to a summer time close, the locals cast a weary & wary glance at the tropical outlook and know it's not over yet. As I write this Hurricane Isaac is making its way across the tropics. We already have been having tropical rain showers which make the vegetation lush and the mosquitos hatch. The small ants are climbing out of their ant holes seeking dry ground so be sure to not leave anything out that might attract them. It happens everywhere. It's just another trade off for not shoveling much snow in the winter time. So if you happen to be a guest at the cottage while a storm is moving up the coast, let me assure you that this is NOT a place you want to be stuck at. Last years storm cut some holes in our highway which made it nearly impossible to travel. You can see the new temporary bridge the state installed. Let's hope it makes it thru these next years without any trouble. So if you are urged to evacuate, please do. There's no sense in having regrets later. Peace. Well, the first rental guests have come & gone. They brought their little baby-girl to the beach for the first time. She had mixed feelings about that great big sand-box and the noisy, wet ocean. But all & all, it sounds like they had an enjoyable time being away-from-it-all. Perhaps next time the weather will be a bit more cooperative for them. There's a chance of rain for every day this week but in between the rain-storms, there won't be any. Right now it's scattered clouds with a large hint of blue skies & sunshine. So the laundry is on my clothesline and since it IS towels that I hung up there today, it IS likely to rain. To heck with the weather-man, they seem to be always wrong. Now how does that weather-man keep his job when he is consistantly incorrect? Perhaps I should be a weather prognosticator. I couldn't do any worse than the "professionals" ! 'tis the first day of May, which is the first month that we offer rentals of Nirvana cottage in Avon at Hatteras.
Most of the spring-time prep chores are completed except for that additional coat of paint here & thar and a few other tidbits to do. It seems when the to-do list is mostly completed then something else additional finds it's way onto the to-do list. I ought to be used to that since we've been tending this cottages needs for most of the half-century of my life. There's been a plethora of changes all around the island with it's almost unbridled growth & infusion of people. With that growth comes the new NPS regulations, the mini-hotel/beach houses with the turf lawns and their spas & pools. Except for the NPS regulations, you aren't going to have all that here at Nirvana. We've kept the lawn here "wild" to attract the local mosquito eaters and for you to enjoy peace among the trees. I hope you will love it here as much as I do. . . That's a few of the birds I saw today whilst I was on the roof-top clearing gutters & spreading some tar on the boot of the plumbing vent. Later I sat on one of the chairs & watched as the pine siskins gathered near the drinking-place. They land on the branches near-by, making their way to the fresh water. One flew very near to where I was seated. It seemed surprised when it realised there was a human actually seated there. We locked eyes for a few moments & then the bird made it's way back towards the bird-bath & went on it's merry way. .. I think if one sat there long & still enough, eventually the birds would probably land upon them. . . .Let me know if that happens to you while you are here...
So todays commotion at the bird-bath was the huge gathering of at least fifty cedar wax-wings. Singing out as they perched in the tree branches around their watering-trough. Cardinals were busy fliting about in the shrubbery hunting their meal. The small black & white pine siskins with their yellow rumps flashing as they frequent the bath alight on the branches, tenatively, while I sit on the steps to watch them. 'tis a very busy, enchanted place. I suppose this place should be listed as a backyard habitat. . . ;-) This is a site I just found this evening where someone blogged on how they managed some lovely photos of some cedar waxwings in their thirsty-mode in 2009: http://fairegarden.wordpress.com/2009/02/24/thirsty-throngs/
Lizard made his appearance on "center stage" which is a sunny south facing branch on a tree near the screened front-porch. I managed to capture a photo while he puffed up his red throat in a handsome display.. . . The flock of cedar waxwings songs filled the air whilst they combed the branches in the trees in search of tidbits to feed upon. They are lovely bandit looking birds with their olive-brown feathers & the black masks around their eyes. If you are fortunate enough to see one even closer, you can see the tips of their wings are seemingly dipped in red as if they have red sealing wax melted upon their wingtips.. very flashy & beautiful. . . . :-)
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NirvanaI'm one of three daughters of the original owners & designers of this cottage. Born in the Hudson Valley of New York, I moved here in the 1980's and now fully manage this humble abode. I hope this blog is a place you can add comments, ideas, suggestions & questions.... Namaste. Archives
June 2016
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