September 2021

HUTAFF ISLAND, Spring, 1970 The word “remote” didn’t come close to describing the island. There was no bridge, no ferry, no road, and no people. The only direct water passage was a shoal-studded, oyster-rock ribbon of water known as Elmore’s Inlet that withered to a ditch at low tide. A shallow draft, bateau-style boat running…

It’s a “you-had-me-at-hello” kind of home, a house that makes you want to stop and take a picture. That breezeway, those industrial accents, the front door with the chinchilla glass. Music to the eyes just might be the perfect description. Warm and inviting, yet oh so cool. The owners are pretty cool themselves. Beau Gunn…

When George Hutaff bought his 2.5-mile long strip of sand and its many acres of saltmarsh in 1925, it was one of many uninhabited barrier islands on the Atlantic coast. While development accelerated on nearby beaches, Hutaff Island remained a pristine haven for sea turtles, coastal birds and rare plants, as well as for local…

Live Music Returns Widespread Panic performs at the Live Oak Bank Pavilion in downtown Wilmington to a sold-out audience on July 16, 2021.

Paws Place Dog Rescue, the no-kill shelter in Brunswick County, has a simple mission: the rescue, rehabilitation and adoption of dogs. But Paws Place is a private nonprofit and doesn’t have access to the resources that flow to other shelters. “Because we are a privately owned 501(c)(3), we do not get any funding from local,…

While working on her BFA in studio art, Joan McLoughlin received a landscape assignment. As an avid gardener, it would have been easy to paint scenes of fauna and flora. She decided on another approach, one that would later reveal her interpretation of art and creation. “I did a person holding hand grenades. He had…

Mark your calendar!  Oct. 2nd 27th Annual Bark in the Park  Dogs will have a field day at the 27th annual Bark in the Park on Saturday, Oct. 2 beginning at 11 a.m. at the Wrightsville Beach Park. Dogs will enjoy a friendly competition of disc catching, with extra points given for catches in the…

Last year, we faced unprecedented levels of uncertainty amid COVID-19. The pandemic challenged everything we did in America — including education.  Parents faced at minimum the prospect of their children staring at a computer for hours while distance learning or, when schools began to open, social-distanced, mask-wearing all day. Many parents did not like either…

Oh no, say it isn’t so (“Alien Invaders,” August 2021 WBM). I’ve been planting nandinas everywhere I’ve lived forever.  Always loved the colors, shape, berries and they made a great shaded hedge. Never too old to learn something new.  Back to the garden shop to start replacing them with some variegated fatsia. Won’t my husband be…