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UNCLE JACK'S WEBLOG
Monday, January 26, 2015
Another walk in the woods.
       It's reluctantly back to Charm City for Uncle Jack and Mrs. U.J. after a delightful three-week sojourn in South Nags Head. One could legitimately ask how he could possibly use the word "delightful" to describe a period during which it seemed to rain every other day and the sun was as elusive as a check from Publishers Clearing House. The answer, of course, is that any day in South Nags Head is preferable to a winter day in Baltimore where the temperatures were uniformly 20 degrees lower and either sleet or snow seemed to fall nearly every day they were here. The forecast for today is six more inches of the white stuff which has started them planning a quick return to Sonag in February.
       Once again the most enjoyable part of their present vacation was walking around in the Nags Head Woods. He is not quite sure what it is that draws them to the woods except perhaps the stark contrast between this quiet, peaceful, secluded semi-wilderness and the raucous commercial clamor so nearby. There is something timeless about the woods that has a magical effect on their psyches.
       Actually he should probably shut up about the loveliness of the woods in winter out of pure selfishness. One of the most enjoyable aspects of walking in the woods is the almost total absence of other people to mar the serenity of the scene. Anyway he and Mrs. U.J. will be gone for a couple of weeks so they urge anybody who has not yet experienced the delights of this mini-forest in our midst to try it before they return. Perhaps the pictures below will provide additional inducement.


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Some of the graves in the Tillet family cemeteries in Nags Head Woods date back to the 18th century.

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On a sunny day the play of shadows and light in the woods is indescribably beautiful, especially in the winter when the trees are bare of leaves and the eye can travel further into the depths.

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Not an impressionist painting but rather a photo of a clump of trees and bushes that have been nearly overwhelmed by an assortment of vines that are spreading uncontrolled through many parts of the woods.

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This is the vista from a bench located roughly halfway to the end of Trail #5. That's Roanoke Island in the distance.

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Trail #5 (l.5 miles in and out) ends at a picturesque beach on the sound where a tangled mass of trees and stumps encapsulates the passage of time in this maritime forest.

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This stump is all that is left of a mighty oak tree on the trail, probably more than 200 years old. A number of new trees, not oak, are actually growing out of the stump.

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A few foundation bricks are all that remains of the Tillet family farmhouse deep in the woods. The Tillets had cleared land for a farm more than a century ago but the forest has reclaimed the land.

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This pond is on Trail #4 which leads directly to the entrance to Trail #5 and together they make a roughly two mile trek from the Conservancy parking lot on Ocean Acres Drive and back.

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Google Uncle Jack's Beach Cottage (or contact Cola Vaughan Realty) for rental info on this delightful South Nags Head home. Senior friendly and close to the beach. Choice weeks are going fast so don't wait too long.

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Google "Uncle Jack's Outer Banks" Kindle edition for info on how to acquire his pretty funny book with 100 stories and dozens of pictures about life on the Outer Banks.

posted by Uncle Jack at 4:54 PM

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After retiring in 2005 after 35 years as owner/operator of Yellowhouse Gallery and Annex on the Beach Road in Nags Head, Uncle Jack, accompanied by Mrs. Uncle Jack (a.k.a. Susan), commenced to travel extensively. This blog is a chronicle of their ramblings around the U.S. (in their redoubtable Mini Cooper convertible) as well as visits to England, Ireland, France, Italy, and Malta, interspersed with lengthy stays in South Nags Head and Baltimore between trips. He took a lot of pictures along the way, many of which are posted along with each blog entry.
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