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DCI Morse with
Town of Duck Police Chief Philip Ferguson |
| Our Friend Morse |
Duck, NC - The Town of Duck and Police Chief Phillip Ferguson announce with extreme sadness the passing of the Town's beloved tracking Bloodhound Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) Morse on Saturday, July 18, 2009.
Morse was born on December 7, 2001 and became part of the Ferguson family in April of 2002 when he was named DCI Morse of Stirling Bridge. His name was two-fold, having been named after Colin Dexter's Fictional Detective Chief Inspector Morse followed by the Ferguson kennel name, Stirling Bridge. He was also a registered Bloodhound with the American Kennel Club.
Officer Morse joined the Duck Police Department on April 1, 2003, along with Chief Ferguson as part of the original formation of the department. Officer Morse quickly became a favorite of both residents and visitors alike as he was frequently seen around Town accompanying Chief Ferguson.
Each December, Morse and Ferguson attended the National Police Bloodhound Association Winter Training in York, South Carolina to keep up on the latest tracking techniques. Although, fortunately, Morse never needed to use his skills on a missing person case in the Town of Duck, he was ready to be called upon as his training required.
Additionally, Morse was an annual participant in the Town's 4th of July Parade, frequented Children's Story Time at the Town Park in the summer, loved "Yappy Hour" at Outer Barks, and took frequent walks throughout the Town and the park. He also loved Milkbones, turkey at Thanksgiving, getting sprayed by the garden hose, and of course all the hugs and kisses he received while out and about throughout the Town of Duck.
Morse will be greatly missed by The Town of Duck's residents, visitors, and staff. He is survived by his parents, Chief Phillip and Sandy Ferguson, and sister Piper.
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Between the Lines
Reading Recommendations from the Cottage Shelves |
 The second book in Stieg Larsson's Lisbeth Salander trilogy is just out- The Girl Who Played With Fire. I found it to be an even better read than his first, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, as did several other chosen readers of the advance copy we got. Can't wait for number three. Read Elisabeth Hyde's In The Heart of the Canyon over July Fourth weekend and really enjoyed it. The basic premise is a river rafting trip through the Grand Canyon with three guides and three rafts of paying customers who run the gamut from a single mom trying to reconnect with her overweight, teenage daughter to an elderly husband and wife who are staring down the barrel of Alzheimer's but try to squeeze in one last trip down the river. Hyde's visuals are great and will have you booking your trip as soon as you put the book down. Wasn't sure where Sophie Kinsella's new novel Twenties Girl was going at first: discombobulated heroine whose business is going bust and can't seem to get over a break-up becomes paired up with ghost of deceased great aunt whose, well, dead and can't seem to get over a missing necklace. A clever plot twist half-way through took me completely by surprise and I promise you that doesn't happen often! Allison Burnett's YA novel, Undiscovered Gyrl, was quite fascinating. Recent high school grad Katie Kampenfelt has delayed college for a bit and is filling her time with a part-time bookstore job, addictive behaviors, an affair with a college professor and writing brutally honest blog entries (but changing names and places). Katie definitely has some daddy issues and the ending is another one I did not see coming.
Just out in paperback and sure to be a hit with the guys is Stefan Fatsis' A Few Seconds of Panic: A Sportwriter Plays in the NFL. Forty something Stefan spends a year of intense preparation trying to get NFL ready to spend three months as a placekicker for the Denver Broncos. Also new in paper is Martha Sherrill's Dog Man, An Uncommon Life on a Faraway Mountain. Sherrill profiles Morie Sawataishi who singlehandedly revived and saved the Akita breed of dogs from extinction. Fans of Knit Lit will embrace Casting Off by Nicole R. Dickson about a tiny Irish island where every hand-made fisherman's sweater tells a story. I was quite late mailing out my July 'Jamie's Book Club' selection but Giulia Melucci's memoir I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti finally hit the post. And finally, this month the Duck's Cottage Reading Group is working on The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz.
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| Flotsam & Jetsam
Footnotes from life at a coffee shop |
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Wow! It has been a great summer! Weather has been unusually mild with lots of pleasant evenings to enjoy concerts on the green... enough rain to keep flowers happy and vegetables coming.. lots of smiling visitors who- after SEVEN years- keep coming back for more great Duck's Cottage coffee (and books); yep, believe it or not we just celebrated our SEVENTH anniversary! We couldn't do it without you- the best customers on the planet. Late last month we enjoyed seeing one of our very first customers from July 22, 2001- Craig Lee and family in from LaJolla, CA for their annual Duck sojourn.. Chris and I celebrated our sixth anniversary this month at the Lifesaving Station Restaurant at the Sanderling Inn. If you haven't been there in awhile- GO!! I can't even begin to tell you what a fantastic meal we had- absolutely delicious and the historic surround makes for an intimate atmosphere. Thanks to Paige, Mark and Graham for a memorable meal... the new amphitheatre (see above) at the Town of Duck Park is almost done! Architect Barry Moss did a fabulous job with the 200-seat design that nestles perfectly into the hillside behind the Park Green.. what we've been watching: Entourage, Memento, Grey Gardens, HP #6 (awesome!).. what we want to see: Time Traveler's Wife, Julia and Me, Entourage Season #1.. another milestone was celebrated across the parking lot this month- Happy TWENTIETH Anniversary to our good friends over at the Blue Point..
Every year our family plays a Memorial Day to Labor Day long game of license plates. We keep a running list in the car sometimes detouring through hotel and restaurant parking lots in an effort to spot all fifty states. The only rule is they must be spied on this side of the bridge- the actual, physical Outer Banks. Every year we get 48- it comes down to Hawaii and one of the Dakotas... this year, Hawaii was the first plate we saw!!! And we've got Alaska! And both Dakotas! As we roll into August we only need two plates to reach our first ever complete list. SO... if you're from Idaho or Montana and will be  visiting Duck before Labor Day PLEASE stop in and ask for me! |
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The Duck's Cottage Reading Group held our bi-annual cookbook meeting last month. I stole this idea from another local book group (thank you Duck Woods ladies!) and it works like this: instead of reading a book for the month, everyone brings their favorite cookbook (and a dish from the same) to the meeting. After enjoying a wonderful smorgasbord and some social time, everybody takes turns explaining why that cookbook is their particular favorite. The cookbooks that made appearances at our meeting were: Vegetable Love (Barbara Kafka) note: I couldn't live without this book; The Classic Italian Cookbook (Marcella Hazan); Outer Banks Cuisine (Becky Smith); Kitchen Memories (Anne Parsons & Alex Greely); Mastering the Art of French Cooking (Julia Child); The Betty Crocker Cookbook (Betty Crocker); Garlic & Sapphires/Tender at the Bone/Comfort Me With Apples (Ruth Reichl); Hot, Hotter, Hottest (Janet Hazen). By having a Cookbook meeting, our members enjoy a little 'summer vacation' from book cub reading.
At this meeting we also selected our next six month's worth of books. This fall we'll be reading David Sedaris' When You Are Engulfed in Flames; Abraham Verghese's My Own Country, Riding the Bus with My Sister by Rachel Simon, Islands Apart by Ken McAlpine, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer/Annie Barrows and The Last Chinese Chef by Nicole Mones.
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| August Events |
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The Author Discussion Series continues this month with two final sessions.
August 7 Richard LaMotte: Pure Sea Glass
Richard LaMotte is the expert when it comes to sea glass. His past appearances have always drawn huge crowds who come for glass identification, to admire beautiful shards from Richard's vast collection and to be inspired to keep searching for that next incredible piece. Bring your most unusual piece of seaglass for Richard's evaluation and be sure to check out the new Pure Sea Glass Identification Deck from Chesapeake Seaglass Publishing!
August 14 Marjorie Hudson: Searching for Virginia Dare Virginia Dare is a historical figure dimly remembered more than 400 years after her birth. She was the first English child born on American soil, part of the disastrous "Lost Colony". New research, archeology, dendrochronology, and close scrutiny of sources have revealed new theories that may result in a solution to the mystery. More than that, the tangle of legends, oral histories, Native American connections, and even pop culture that have built around Virginia Dare are astonishing, entertaining, and even amusing. In this presentation, Ms. Hudson explores new research and old legends
This lecture is sponsored by a Roads Scholars grant from the NC Humanities Council.
Duck's Cottage does Children's Storytime in the Picnic Pavilion at the Town of Duck Park on Thursday, August 6th, 10am.
August 21 Jo Maeder: When I Married My Mother
In this memoir, Maeder traces the events that led her from life as a New York DJ back to the Bible Belt to care for her elderly, and somewhat estranged, mother. Her biggest regret? That she didn't do it sooner. Come meet North Carolina writer Jo Maeder and find out how she discovered what really matters by caring for Mama Jo. She will be signing books from 10 am to 12 pm at the store.
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My favorite customer quote of the summer
"If there was a top ten list for bathroom views
this place would definitely be on it!"
Jamie Layton
Duck's Cottage
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