Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Hurricane Irene

Queens Creek

Once upon a Friday, the view out of Chesapeake Bay Woman's back window, which faces Queens Creek, looked ominous but tranquil.

With the threat of a Category 2 hurricane approaching, the Chesapeake Bay Family decided to take a nap board up in preparation, even though what CBW really wanted to do was run away to Bora Bora take a nap.

So 46-year-old CBW and her 70-year-old father hauled plywood out of the basement, staggered up steps, teetered on ladders, banged heads against overhangs, struggled to see where screws needed to go, until, after much ado and more than a few foul words, they managed to seal up the sliding glass doors facing the creek.


Casa de CBW.

CBW, always a stickler for details  and on the cutting edge of obsolescence current events, was shocked to see that winds and rain had already started when she awoke Saturday morning. (She was under the misguided impression that the storm wasn't going to hit until later in the day.)

Do not adjust your dials.  Pardon these blurry shots, but I took these from inside the house, through dirty rain stained windows and screens.

As you can see, the tide was coming up into the yard, and white caps danced along the shore.






This is the same view only through CBW's tears because her power had gone out and she knew she'd be without internet for days on end very rainy windows. The wind and rain were fierce; however, we're accustomed to storms, and this wasn't much worse than your average nor'easter or tropical storm.

Of course that's just my uneducated opinion, and of course I didn't suffer major damage, so that's easy for me to say.  There were deaths associated with this storm, although none were in Mathews.





Every now and then, CBW would glance through the one sliding door that was not boarded up to make sure no trees had crashed down on her parents' house next door.

Luckily none did, but you can see how even here, very early in the storm, Mother Nature was showing off her  finest pruning skills on the pine trees.


CB Parents' House.  Clumps of pine needles all over the ground.

The next day?

It was almost as if nothing happened.

(Almost.)



This (below) was taken early in the day on Saturday from a window looking out towards the boat house and Miller's Cove.


Here the tide is already over the dock.

Later on, the tide came over the dock and seemed to swallow the boat house.

You can't really see it here, but the tide is waaaay up and overtaking the boat house.

The next day?

Almost as if nothing happened.

(Almost.)



Almost...





A very large pine branch came down onto the dock, nearly hitting the boat house.



Locust branch down during the storm.


And, I lost a major part of the locust tree.


Locust tree the day after.

Still, we fared very well, all things considering. There was no structural damage except minor issues with the dock which was dilapidated to begin with.

I'll share more photos from the storm later this week, when I have more time and more patience. These took over an hour to load because both my laptop and my desktop are old enough to draw Social Security checks, and they've decided to act ornery up at the same time.

In the mean time, I've received several inquiries from property owners (from as far away as Indonesia and France!) regarding the state of affairs here in the county.  For the most part we fared far better than expected.

If anyone reading has particular concerns, I am more than happy to travel to your property and take photos for you if you wish. Just e-mail me at ChesapeakeBayWoman@gmail.com. I enjoy hearing from you and am happy to help in any way.

Thanks for your patience as I continue my lifelong struggle with technology and things breaking down on me. Hopefully we'll have more pictures later in the week, and if we don't that just means both the laptop and the PC are resting comfortably in the bottom of Queens Creek after a run-in with Hurricane CBW.

The End.

12 comments:

deborah said...

I've been so worried about you and your family - it's so good to read that you are safe and sound!

Jamie said...

Welcome back to the 21st century (it is the 21st century right? I always get confused). We're headed down to the 'Ville this weekend and hoping to have power. Luckily all the trees that could fall on the house did when the tornado hit so I'm sure it's fine. Not so sure about the redneck diving board on the pier. Pretty sure it floated away. Glad there were no major issues. Time to get ready for Hurricane Katia now.

Mrs F with 4 said...

I can't tell you how happy I am that you (and CBParents) survived without any major damage, but especially damage to your persons!

Irene blew through here on Sunday as a post-tropical depression (apparently); we lost current for 24 hours or so; took care of pruning the pines in our yard; peeled some shingles from the roof; and thoroughly over-watered everything in sight. It was un-nerving enough for me, and she wasn't even a hurricane, so I can't imagine what it was like for you.

Mental P Mama said...

So glad it wasn't so bad...how is my brick house down the lane?

Maria_NJ said...

like CBW said the next day was soooo great, the sky was bright blue and not a drop of humidity, or a cloud to be seen, so lovely, the kind of weather you would love all year round...

Mental Mama, are you talking about the brick house on the lane that needs work, was that a fire? At our age we are looking for a ranch style home, preferably with a formal dining room, we have been looking but nothing yet...

Daryl said...

I had the same reaction on Saturday when I woke to rain .. hey this isnt supposed to happen now... and then I just sucked it up and did what I had to .. I am sorry your flat-top isnt cooperating..

Sooska said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sooska said...

I am glad you all down there didn't sustain any damage. My family has property on the Piankatank. We have received word that no damage was done; we were especially worried after what happened during Isabel (flooded ground floor, multiple trees down that narrowly missed the house, boathouse and barn; destroyed dock.)

I just recently found your blog and really enjoy your photos of life on the River and Bay. You will give me the chance to visit my favorite place on Earth between real visit!

Country Girl said...

Great job of reporting here. I can't believe how high the tide came up. But then again, yes I can. At the height of the storm I was thinking that we've been through much worse than this.

Kay L. Davies said...

Whew.
Glad you and your kids are alright. Glad your parents are alright. Now, to get serious, how is The Goose from Hell? Did your mother have him safely lodged in the bathtub during the storm, or what?
— K

Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

Anonymous said...

Glad that you and my hometown made out ok. I was worried after the Isabell experience. The Northern Neck seemed to actually get hit harder this time. We are slowly getting our "current" back. We finally got ours this afternoon which made me a happy girl!
Trinia

Anonymous said...

Never knew I had my own cove - learn something new every day:) Looks like your poolboy has a bit of work dealing with the storm cleanup...guess it could have been worse!
SMBS (Single Male Blog Stalker)