You Know You Live in Oriental When ...

I've showed you this house before, raised high on stilts. It's coming along beautifully. If you look carefully in the background far away, you can see the river - that dark strip of gray on the horizon.

From the other side of the house they'll have a lovely balcony view of the water. As it turns out, we've met the owners of this new house and become friends, and we're so happy they'll be here in Oriental full-time.

Sometimes we need Beau to stay on his leash but we don't want to hold him if we're doing work in the yard.

You know you live in Oriental when you anchor your dog.

And in Oriental, when you meet a nice older retired couple and chat, later you're not surprised to see them going down the river in a double kayak with a sail, instead of taking a stroll or sitting on the porch. Isn't that adorable?

The quince bushes are now in good bloom. The daffodils are at their height.

In Oriental, we have a seafood chowder cook-off contest each March. Adam will be cooking and completing this year, so he's experimenting at home on his own eaters. This was his first attempt last week. I don't like seafood much, so this one has potatoes, corn, and bacon. It was most excellent, creamy and rich.

In Oriental, the old geezers sit on the curb, one smoking a pipe with his dog, another holding a laptop. This was so comical I had to photograph it. Joe is the one in the middle, a friend of ours. Since moving to Oriental he's been working on his cool, relaxed sailor look -- the beard, the pipe, the hat. I think he has an earring. He's fitting right in, in Oriental!

It was just warm enough for a bike ride this afternoon. We rode out to Whittaker Point Marina and saw this boat, run aground and doing downhill fast. Very sad.

Whittaker Point is sprucing up their east dock with new deck boards. The floating dock with machinery is on the right.

I just love a sky full of masts!

From Whittaker Point, I was able to see a few familiar homes from a new vantage point -- across the water of Whittaker Creek. This house on its point is just a scrubby-looking driveway on Link Lane, but you see here they have quite a stunning location, and oh-so private! When the occasional hurricane hits though, watch out!

One of my favorite houses in town, this one is tricky to photograph from the road -- too many trees. It's a squat lighthouse. Recently it was on the market and sold quickly.

Quite adorable!

Adam likes this cute little steel-hulled boat.

From Whittaker Point, you get a good view of Deaton's Boatyard and Sailcraft -- two good businesses. This channel of water was cut in, and is full of sailboats. What a sight! Always there's the sound of saws, hammers, painting, and the chatter of sailors swapping advice.

An Oriental post wouldn't be complete without a couple of choice boat names.

The sweet life -- yes, it is! And these folks take a more spiritual approach to boat ownership.

After a few very chilly days, we were happy to have temps in the 50s today, and hopefully warmer tomorrow. Have a great weekend, everyone!