Southport, and the livin's easy

I took Daisy outside yesterday morning and found this fellow adhering to the front porch overhang...



That's a green tree frog, and not my last encounter with one that day.

The mailboxes for our neighborhood are centralized in one location about a fifth of a mile from the house, and are of the lock-box variety, requiring a key. Mrs. Paco and I walk there most evenings to retrieve our mail, and yesterday, after unlocking the box and extracting the three letters that happened to be in there, I was about to close the door when Mrs. Paco said, "Um, I don't think you got it all." I peered into the box and there was a small green blob - another tree frog. For a moment I thought the poor little fellow might have expired, but I saw his throat throbbing, so I picked up a stick and gently nudged him toward the opening, where he headed for the tall uncut.

Today, Mrs. Paco and I went to see a lawyer to update our wills. We were glad to find the attorney to be a man of experience, learning and wry humor, and, upon hearing that he should have drafts completed in the next couple of weeks, we assured him we would try to hang on long enough to finish the process. Then we took a stroll along the waterfront in Southport, which is on the Cape Fear River where it flows into the ocean. It is a lovely and picturesque little town, with well-maintained parks, lots of shops and eateries, and numerous covered tables and swings from which one can watch the river. Here are a few photos.







Here are some houses that reflect the typical architecture of homes alongside the river (at least one of them - I think the second house - is over 150 years old, if the little plaque by the front door is accurate).







Of course, aside from getting our wills in order, I had a strong ulterior motive for going downtown (good hot dogs and ice cream, I can report)...



I was hoping to run into this guy, but didn't see him around today.