31-AUG-2006
Contemplation
Thursday, August 31, and the winds from the storm, currently pounding North Carolina, have reached the Virginia coast. Gus has been working to secure things and takes a moment to contemplate...
21-SEP-2005
Better days
It was a magical beach, a magical walk down the hill through the Hackberry, Cedar, Black Walnut, Oak, Sycamore, Tulip Tree, Locust, Paulownia, Wild Cherry, and ending with the old and majestic Hickory.
21-SEP-2005
The fishing bench
We like to "reclaim" old wood - in fact, we used quite a bit in our home - and this old Cedar trunk made a wonderful bench to sit on when fishing (at high tide!) while we watched the river, Gulls, Bald Eagles, Osprey, Geese, Swans, and the watermen as they pulled their crab pots.
20-MAY-2006
Kayaking
We loved our beach. How easy it was to push the kayaks off for a tour of the shoreline or to hop on the catamaran for a relaxing sail.
01-SEP-2006
The beginning
Gus pulled the kayaks up to high ground but could not get the catamaran pulled to safety before the storm hit. What a shame. We watched as it was lifted off of the trailer and viciously slammed around by the waves. There was no way to save it now. The rain and wind was pummeling the house. Gus did try to save the cat but he was being sandblasted by the rain and had to give up! We just had to watch as Ernesto had his way.
(This photo and the next two were taken through the rain-streaked windows and so the lesser quality.)
01-SEP-2006
The creek
Normally calm, our creek was raging in this “perfect storm.” We had been experiencing higher-than-normal tides the last few days. I suppose that was due to runoff from the heavy rains up North. The high tides, heavy rain, and swells of 3-4 feet just made matters so much worse.
01-SEP-2006
The middle
The storm raged from 11:00 AM on Friday until 1:00 AM on Saturday so this isn't really the "middle" but just one photo from the meager sequence taken Friday. Actually, the middle was when we had appetizers for dinner (cooked on the gas stovetop as the power went off around 3:00 PM) and a Frangelico for dessert!
02-SEP-2006
The end
Early Saturday morning we went out to survey the damage. Having watched our neighbor's dock being torn apart, we took a look first at the damage there, and it was severe. Gone was the "L" dock but the pier was still standing. Lucky for them they took their boats out.
02-SEP-2006
The Majestic Hickory
It's down. It went down around 7:00 PM on Friday. We cried.
01-SEP-2006
That magical walk
Gus and neighbor Ben survey the damage as I follow behind with camera in hand.
02-SEP-2006
Now a cliff
Besides the Hickory, many other trees came down. Not surprising but certainly tragic, as is the erosion to our shoreline. Where once stood the magnificent root-ball of a Sycamore tree still living beside our Cedar bench, now is a scar of earth. (Because the root-ball *was* so beautiful, I’ve added a photo of it at the end of this photo-story.)
02-SEP-2006
Erosion
Some friends visiting to see what damage we suffered commented that we had a bigger, nicer beach. Amazing! Is that actually what they saw?
