Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Getting Back To Normal After Hurricane Irene


We really lucked out with Hurricane Irene. Many people in our area are still without power.
We only lost power and had to use the generator to run our sump pumps for about four hours the night before last, while they patched the electric lines on our road.


Jerry spent two days pumping water from across the street into our horse pasture to divert it from flowing further down the road and through our basement.



His efforts really paid off. The basement is starting to dry up. The sump pumps are running a little less frequently and we don't have to go down and wet-vac every hour anymore.



The bridge just up the road was flooded with about three feet of
"water over the bridge" on Sunday.



On Monday, Jerry put the plant stands back up.
We hung the flower baskets as Princess supervised.  


It took most of the morning, but we got almost everything
dug out, rearranged and hung up. 


All morning, the hummingbirds showed their delight
with loud vocalizations and synchronized, ariel displays.

Along with lots and lots of water, Hurricane Irene also brought
out a great deal of misquotes, flies, aphids and other insects.

She also brought me another unexpected visitor.


I felt a pair of teeny tiny eyes watching me from a large grey stepping stone.
It was an adorable baby Snapping Turtle coated with wood chips and debris.
He was all dried out, hot and exhausted.


Not much bigger than a silver dollar,
he must have gotten washed away from his nest far away in the storm.


I put him in a box and walked him down the road to an old irrigation pond.
He really perked up when I put him near the water and he enthusiastically jumped in.


He's a shot of his new home. I hope he likes it.

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Good Riddance Hurricane Irene

It's the day after the debut of Hurricane Irene here in Southern New Jersey.


Irene did show mercy on us. No injury was inflicted on our various critters and damage to our property was minimal. We tied up the butterfly bushes which protected them from harm. We took down all the hummingbird feeders last night at dark. The first crack of dawn brought the hummers back  to us in droves. By 6:00 am. we had the feeders back up and we were back in business for our famished customers.


The horses, cats, turkeys and deer all seemed to be very hungry but overall in very fine shape.

Irene dumped some huge amounts of water on us however. 

The lot across the street is overflowing with run off.


The bad news is,  that it drains underground through our basement!

We have 4 sump pumps and a wet-vac going in the basement now.  Just trying to keep up with it is a full time job. Looks like our main priority now will be keeping up with the flood. I'm afraid we won't be getting much free time or sleep over the next week or so. 


Good Riddance Hurricane Irene!

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Getting Ready For Hurricane Irene


Jerry and I have spent the last day and a half preparing for Irene.


The house looks so empty after we removed all the shepherd's hooks,
chairs, decorations and hanging baskets.


We still have some of the hummingbird feeders hanging.


The little birds don't like the new arrangement one single bit.
And I can't say I blame them.


I don't think anyone has visited this one that I tied to the railing yet.


Jerry's workshop looks like a nursery.
There are plants everywhere.


His fishing pole rack makes a great hanger.


We moved the truck and trailer to a safe spot away from the trees.


Topped off the water trough . . . 


Jerry did some grating in front of the horse stalls
so that the water would hopefully drain away.


Put plexi-glass in Rita's west side window. . . 


Moved the metal pony into the barn . . .


And now we are all just waiting and hoping that Irene will be kind to us
and keep moving farther out to sea.


Monday, August 22, 2011

Summertime On Long Beach Island

Sally and I started out Thursday morning at the far north end

Wanting to get some photos of various walkways to the beach, we headed south.


Fragrant bayberry grew wild at one entranceway.



It was still early and there weren't many people at the water's edge.


Although many flowers were past peak,
we didn't have to look far for beautiful colors.


An abundant variety of textures, smells, sounds and styles


 awakened our senses and got the creative juices flowing. 


People watching is always a big pastime on the island.


Spending quality time together, relaxing and just hanging out
is a large part of what a shore vacation is all about.


A solitary sentinel looks towards the ocean from Holgate
at the southern point of the island.


Dad's doing a really good job here.
Probably the first Family Portrait with their new addition.

Find out more about Long Beach Island
and see great photos from a long time resident, Sally Vennel.

Friday, August 19, 2011

A Morning Visit To Long Beach Island, NJ

Spur of the moment on Wednesday, I decided I was going to go down to Long Beach Island on Thursday, to shoot my new camera and 28-300mm lens. I called my friend, Sally, who lives on the island, to see if she wanted to meet me. She did, and said she gets up at 5am. I don't get up that early and it takes me 45 minutes to get to her house, so I was down there by 7. I should have gotten there earlier, however it was an overcast, grey, flat light, kind of morning anyway.


We visited the Barnegat Lighthouse.


This is a 5" x 7' oil painting I did of it a couple of weeks ago.


Many varieties of flowers are planted around the lighthouse and the park there.


We met some nice people.


And we watched the fishing boats head out to sea.


Then we went over to the Viking Village Marina, just outside of the Barnegat inlet. 


A leader in the Commercial Fishing Industry here on the East Coast,
much of this country's shrimp, scallops, crab and fish come through this port.


Here many commercial fishing boats and charters are docked. 
I even found one with my name on it!


Then off to the yacht club, where not much activity was taking place.


Wow, I wonder who lives there, across the bay.


After checking out the bay, we headed off to the beach side.
I took lots more photos there. I'll post a sampling of those shots next time.
Here's a parting shot of my friend, Sally Vennel in a contemplative mood.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Boardwalk Empire Facade on the Atlantic City Boardwalk


Here's a few snaps from yesterday, of the 'Boardwalk Empire' facade on the Atlantic City Boardwalk.





"The 180-foot long display is in front of the West Hall of Boardwalk Hall, near the intersection of the Boardwalk and Florida Avenue. It is a re-creation of some of the sets for the HBO television series, which is itself a translation of Atlantic County Superior Court Judge, Nelson C. Johnson’s history of Atlantic City." ~ PressofAtlanticCity.com