The Library
Happenings in January
Closing. Bogue Banks Public Library will be closed on Monday, January 16, for
Martin Luther King Day.
Activities for children. Preschool Storytime for ages 3-5 is held each Thursday
at 10 a.m. with Ms. Brita.
• Thursday, January 5, will be “Birds of a Feather.”
• Thursday, January 12, will be “Snow Way.”
• Thursday, January 19, will be “Just Chillin.”
• Thursday, January 26, will be “Happy Chinese New Year!”
Book exchange and sale. Stop by the paperback Book Exchange and trade for a
free paperback book.
Bogue Banks Book Nook. The Book Nook is open Monday through Saturday
from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. There are over 3,000 books for sale. Be sure to check out
the ongoing silent auction; new items are added frequently.
Art exhibit. Throughout the month of January, the art gallery will feature the
wood carvings of William “Dock” Lindley. Mr. Lindley was born in Atlanta, Geor
gia, and his family moved to South Carolina when he was young. As he progressed
through school, it became evident that he possessed artistic abilities.
Upon graduating from high school in Raleigh, he attended East Carolina
University as a business major. After years of having a sales career, he decided to
pursue his talents in art full time. He began by taking a correspondence class and .
received a diploma for studies in Master Art. He also took lessons from various
local artists. In his spare time he started painting, using mostly oil. In addition, Mr.
Lindley is a self-taught wood carver, known for his realistic representations of over
50 species of fish. All carvings are his original design, with attention to detail in full
and half mounts.
He opened his own business. Papa Doc s Art, in 2000. His carvings have been
shipped throughout the United States, as well as Mexico, Canada, France, Denmark
and England. His carvings can be purchased through art shows, festivals, and via
his business website, papadocsart.com.
The showcase will feature the miniature paintings of sea life created by Ocean,
NC, artist Marjorie Echols. Ms. Echols attended Western Connecticut State
University and Wooster Community Art Center in Danbury, Connecticut, and has
owned several art galleries in both Connecticut and North Carolina. She taught
art for many years and became the founder of Still River Artist Association. Her
work may be found in collections in the Eastern United States and the Bahamas, as
well as being archived in the Tate Gallery in London. She is currently a member of
Art for the Hospital in Morehead City and is a signature member of the National
Acrylic Painters Association.
No reception is planned for January.
Wood carvings of Dock Lindley
16 The Shoreline i January 2017
Blue-eyed Snakes
By Frederick Boyce
The New Year is seen as a time of renewal, so it is probably a good time to
expound upon a rather special quality possessed by all snakes—their fabled ability
to renew themselves by shedding their skins entire. At any given time, one might
observe a snake, either in the wild or in captivity, that has blue, milky-looking eyes
and a dull, bluish sheen overall. Such a snake is getting ready to shed its skin, a
process known technically as ecdysis.
All snakes, indeed all reptiles, periodically shed their skins as they grow, but
only snakes consistently shed theirs in one complete piece. How often a snake sheds
will depend on a variety of factors, including species, age and basically how fast the
snake is growing, which is, in turn, dependent upon food availability and a number
of other environmental factors. Some snakes shed about once a month, others once
every few months and some large vipers or giant constrictors may shed only once
or twice in a year.
During the shed cycle, a bluish mucus is secreted by cells just beneath the outer
layer of skin. This fluid functions as a bath for the new skin forming below, and as
a facilitator for the detaching and sloughing off of the old skin. As no snake has
(Continued on page 17)
The sloughed skin of a large timber rattlesnake as found in Carteret County in early 2016. The
dark crossbars, or chevrons, are plainly visible. Such skins are rarely found in the wild, being
favored by birds and other animals as nesting maienal-Photos by Fred Boyce
An “opaque” black racer in the Croatan National Forest. Note the blue eyes.