Picasso

The Degan house has been a little busy this past month...as evident by our lack of posts. During weekdays Jacqui and Porter have been burning rubber south on Hwy 17 to Wilmington and back - 73 miles one way. While Jacqui has gotten back into her teaching routine, Porter has quickly become a fan of daycare. Interacting with babies his age has allowed him to bloom physically, socially, mentally, and immunologically. So far Porter has brought home his first painting, a 24 hr gut bomb virus that wiped out Jacqui's entire knitting group, and RSV (Respiratory syncytial virus)....which is what we are battling now. Special attention must be payed to heart babies if they contract RSV. We won't go into why...no need to put a downer on the update...but thanks to Porter's pediatric cardiologist, he has been receiving monthly shots that help him battle the affects of RSV on his compromised respiratory system. Porter's cough reminds us of a 70 year old smoker. Yuck.

Porter's first edition - more editions to come later in this post!

Porter getting nebulized during his bout with RSV

In between helping Jacqui and Porter get ready for school each day, Brian has some how found time to still get outside and chase game. The annual hog trip to Florida with 'da boys' once again did not disappoint. And once again Jamie did an amazing job of writing about it...read his two part rendition of our hunt: Part I and Part II.

Brian also got out on a couple late season duck hunts with Maple that helped make up for the poor middle season and filled the freezer with some of our favorite eaters. Wood duck, pintail, wigeon, gadwall, and greenwinged teal rounded out our bags during hunts on the White Oak River, Pamlico Point, and J. Morgan Futch impoundments. Enroute to the J. Morgan Futch hunt, a quick stop to bird watch at Lake Mattamuskeet NWR got us in the mood!

Oh my, the pintails!

Canvasbacks everywhere!

Setup at J. Morgan Futch

Pamlico Point at sun-up

This past weekend, we made it over to Lake Norman for Mark & Dana's wedding shower and a quick visit at Grandma Bebe's. Boy was Bebe ready for Porter...upon hearing of his recent painting session at daycare, Bebe quickly formulated some homemade finger paints and let him go to town:

Auntie Dana getting a good smile

Up high with Uncle Mark

Here we go!

Picasso himself in action: