Waiting for Danny

We are officially under a watch....

Public Information Statement as of 5:10 PM EDT on August 27, 2009
... A tropical storm watch has been posted along the North Carolina coast from Cape Lookout to Duck.A tropical storm watch means that tropical storm conditions are possible in the watch area within the next 36 hours.

You wouldn't know anything was brewing from the view of the beach a bit ago...

The surf is laid down, a gentle breeze is blowing...all is calm.

But then the news van appeared!

Not much to report yet...maybe tomorrow night.

Hmmm...Another Brewing??

Keeping a watchful eye on the next storm down south a ways.... Could make Saturday night OBX weather a bit dicey~

From NHC....

The initial motion is a somewhat uncertain 300/10...uncertain
because the storm seems to be decelerating...and the center may be
occasionally re-forming due to convective bursts.  There is no
change to the previous forecast reasoning.  Danny is north of a
mid/upper-level low centered over Hispaniola and southwest of a
mid/upper-level ridge center east of Bermuda.  This pattern should
steer Danny generally northwestward for the next 24 hr or so.
After that...a mid/upper-level trough should develop over the Great
Lakes...with a mid/upper-level low over the Gulf Coast states
moving eastward or northeastward.  This evolution should cause
Danny to turn northward and then recurve into the westerlies.
While the models agree on the scenario...there is still significant
uncertainty as to what land area Danny may affect.  The ECMWF...
UKMET...and Canadian models forecast the center to pass near Cape
Hatteras and then make landfall in New England.  The GFS and GFDL
show the center passing east of Hatteras and then passing near or
over Cape Cod.  The HWRF and NOGAPS...as well as the corrected
consensus models...show the center passing east of Cape Cod and
near or over Nova Scotia.  Overall..the guidance envelope has
shifted slightly to the east since the last advisory.  The new
forecast track is also shifted slightly to the east and lies near
the middle of the guidance envelope.  The forecast track is roughly
parallel to the U. S. East Coast...and any deviation from the track
could make a large difference in what areas get impacted by Danny.
Therefore...it is important not to focus too much on the exact
forecast track.

Things in the Late August Beach Garden

Things in the late August beach garden can sometimes look stressed from prolonged sun, salt, torrential downpours, heat, sun, salt etc.... A few cool things from a walk around the garden.... This zipper is quietly hanging in the middle of a huge clump of Zebra Grass.

The Hydrangea blooms a brilliant clear blue, but fades out during the summer to this interesting purple hue that I like just as much!

I like this lacey leafed variant of Dusty Miller.

The Pampas grass is soft and shimmery in the sun with shades of gold and cream and pink.

Rosemary loves loves loves the beachy climate...the plants that started in 4 inch pots two years ago are HUGE shrubs!!! I love the little blue flowers that it produces and the bees do too!

Bill Waves at KDH

Hurricane Bill passed well off the coast of the OBX on Saturday, but made for some awesome waves. I ventured out several times...at dawn, which was several hours before high tide, early afternoon and then at high tide at night.

A foggy, salty mist hung over the beach and pier.

The water was churning and foamy between wave sets.

No swimming day...though a few fools ventured in. The water rushed back out violently after each wave, the rip current visible and strong.

Looking north from Avalon Pier towards Kitty Hawk.

We took a walk on the pier...it was rocking!! The waves rarely break beyond the pier.

The guards had their hands full keeping goofballs out of the water.

Almost high tide ~930pm, frequent waves under the pier house, though I have seen worse in a good Noreaster here.

The pier was closed to fisherman and sightseers last night...

View from inside the pier house.

900 Miles Away!

I have been a TOTAL garden blog slacker lately...mega work projects taking all my time!

Checked out the beach tonight after dinner. It wasn't high tide but the surf was definitely up from Hurricane Bill. Lots of photographers on the beach and everyone was enjoying the beauty of Mother Nature.

I will be heading out in the morning to get some more images and see what the storm has kicked up as it moves past the Outer Banks way out at sea! Sure glad this one missed us!

Coastal Flood Warning
Expires 12:00 PM EDT on August 23, 2009 -->
Statement as of 5:19 PM EDT on August 21, 2009
... Coastal Flood Warning remains in effect from 8 am Saturday

"Swells from Hurricane Bill will gradually increase along the coast tonight through Saturday... producing rough surf... dangerousrip currents... and a threat of coastal flooding.Waves in the surf zone are expected to peak at 10 to 14 feetSaturday evening. This will produce very dangerous surf... significant beach erosion and possibly ocean overwash. The mostlikely time for overwash will be around 9 am Saturday morning and930 PM Saturday evening during high tide.The high surf combined with higher than normal astronomical tidesmay result in water levels 3 to 4 feet above normal around thetimes of high tide. Ocean overwash will be most significant alongthe Outer Banks... mainly north of Cape Hatteras. Portions of Highway 12 are very vulnerable and may become impassable Saturday into Saturday night."

Sometimes....

...you find beauty in the most unusual, unexpected places! On my way to meet my quilting buddies last Wednesday, I stopped at my favorite biscuit place.... Officially known as the Stop n Shop, but affectionatley known as Helen's and also "Biscuits & Porn." Now I didn't make that up...they actually sell tshirts and can huggies imprinted with that name, and they do in fact sell heavenly fresh baked biscuits to DIE for....(if you want two deaths, get the cheese biscuit) and stock a selection of the other if that is your thing, but I digress.

Aside from this notoriety, there is the most perfect little suflower garden planted out in front that just begged to be photographed.....

There is something so summer perfect about sunflowers...don't you think?

Kimberlee's Sunrise...or THE Cutest thing you will EVER see!

Our girls ride at Wrangler Farms in Jarvisburg, and as we arrived for a lesson this morning we came upon the cutest creature I have ever seen...

I borrow from the "Wild and Free Weekly" blogspot http://corollawildhorses.blogspot.com/ of the Corolla Wild Horse Fund to share the story....

"A horse tour guide called Herd Manager Wesley Stallings around 4 p.m. on July 9th to report seeing a group of mares and a stallion trying to drive a tiny foal from the harem, biting and kicking the baby. We still had many people on the grounds of the Wild Horse Museum and our truck’s tires were not aired down as we had been hauling trailers. (Traveling the 4X4 beach requires tire pressure of 16 – 20 pounds.) Board President Kimberlee Hoey jumped in her Jeep and headed up in advance. We communicated with Kimberlee by phone. The foal was trying to nurse but no mares would allow it. The temperature was in the 80’s and if dehydration didn’t kill the foal, a well placed kick from an adult horse would. Clearly, the foal’s mother had been stolen by another stallion and the foal was left behind. Wesley instructed Kimberlee to try and get the foal away from the other horses and restrain it if possible.When we reached the location, Kimberlee was sitting in the sand, a safe distance from the harem across the street. The exhausted foal was in her arms. Wesley was on the phone with the vet at Dominion Equine Clinic. The vet recommended a baby bottle with water to try and hydrate the foal. Two men who were staying in a nearby house with their families offered a baby bottle with water. Wesley cradled the foal in his arms and climbed into the back seat of our truck. I drove and he was able to get the foal to drink a bit of water from the bottle and we raced to meet the vet at Wrangler Farms in Grandy. After a thorough examination by the vet, the filly was determined to be 3 – 5 days old. Miraculously, she had no broken bones and only a small bite mark on her neck. To save her life, she would have to be bottle fed a commercial mare milk replacer every two hours, night and day for two weeks. Wesley has taken night shift, sleeping in his truck between feedings, and Wrangler staff has taken the day.EVERYONE has fallen in love with “Kimberlee’s Sunrise” – or Sunny. She is thriving, kicking at the air, jumping, and bucking after each feeding. She is sleeping peacefully in her stall with a full tummy and many loving hands to scratch her neck."

Now several weeks later "Sunny" as she is called in the barn, is thriving... and beginning to learn to be a horse.

Sleeping in the sunshine....

Itchy back!

For more information on the Corolla Wild Horses visit... http://www.corollawildhorses.org/

This site gives the history of the Outer Banks horses as well as listing of events that help support this worthy organization...Check it out!

Another Place I Like!

You have to be a bit motivated to get there, but I always find something or another when I go to Nature's Harmony Garden Center on Shipyard Road in Mann's Harbor NC. How can you not love a boat full of flowers??



An Angels's Trumpet to die for! Lots of different perennial Hibiscus... I don't even know what to call the color of this one...maybe Raspberry Sherbert.

Joe Pye Weed over six feet tall....

Usually some butterflies checking out the blooms....

This time, I bought a fig tree for the beach house so next year we will make our own harvest!