Aarons Beach

These pictures of a sunny Aarons Beach area were taken a couple of weeks back, when I stopped there to take a jog.

It was breezy but warm.

The bay really isn't elevated that much above the shoreline/beach area.  I was using my zoom and this was the result.

I've been behind in my jogging and my blogging here lately.

This week, any down time I had was spent preparing for a possible It's Either Gonna Be Another Hurricane Hazel, A Dud, or Anything In Between storm.  

So far, Hurricane Matthew is only delivering Mathews County lots of wind, rain and high tides.  But, to be perfectly honest, we've had those weather conditions hovering around for what feels like years months now, in spite of the sunny, clear skies depicted here.

I'm off on Monday thanks to the wonderful federal holiday, and I hope to take some pictures and do some more jogging then.

Have a great weekend.

Storm

Last week we endured a nor'easter on top of a nor'easter just before the remnants of a hurricane rolled in.

Queens Creek tried to contain herself, but those sustained northeast winds wore her down after a while, especially at high tide.

The water came in the yard but thankfully not in the house.
Unless you want to count the standing water in my garage due to a clogged drain, and I don't.
Thank you very much.

The dock and boathouse, built by my father in the 1970s, worried me.  The creek was over the top of the dock and well up the side of the boathouse for at least five days straight.  Whenever I went out to check on things, especially at high tide, I shook my head as I watched the weakened dock boards go up and down like piano keys with every wave that hit.

There are four dock boards here poking their heads above water.
They're supposed to be attached to the dock, not coming up for air.

(Let's not talk about the paint job the boathouse needs. Thank you.)

This was the first time I ever wondered if the boathouse would finally just surrender and say, "Ya know what?  I've been here a long time.  I'm old.  I'm tired.  I've put up with a lot of stuff, I've done my job.  I deserve to be retired, sipping a margarita poolside in Florida.  Why, exactly, am I still here on Queens Creek putting up with heavy, sustained northeasterly winds and water up to my waist?"

I didn't have an answer.  I couldn't muster a reason at all.  As a matter of fact, why wasn't *I* sipping a margarita poolside in Florida?  Why was *I* still here putting up with the same stuff day after day? Storm after storm?


Miraculously, we both stayed put.

Although the boathouse and I survived with nothing more than an attitude, the dock clearly showed signs of a potential move to Florida surrender.

Luckily, this was the worst of it for us.

Mathews schools let out early on Friday and were closed Monday and Tuesday.

Wednesday there was an hour delay to allow the tide to come in and out.

And the sun came back out again.

The storm always passes.  

And life goes on.

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p.s. I'm not blogging as much for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is Daughter is using my laptop for homework since hers kicked the bucket of late.  Other reasons include driving 400 miles a week to work, work itself, other people asking me to take on more work, very little spare time, nor'easters, surviving as a single parent, surviving another senior year of high school and college applications, remembering to order senior pictures, enduring a nagging toothache that is causing a nagging headache 24 hours a day and my refusal to go to a dentist, Daughter's car needing work, Son needing money, a dog that needs a bath, a cat that needs flea medicine, the stink bug population, ants on my counter, a leaking kitchen sink, a dripping kitchen faucet, and a case of severe exhaustion.  Oh, and I'm training for a half marathon.

High Tide

Compare the water level here with the last picture.
The change in tide occurred in only a few hours.

Along with the gorgeous sunshine on Sunday, another thing that stood out was the level of the tide. Before I left home I noticed it was unusually high. At Merroir it was obvious this tide was higher than usual.

Here, the boat is actually above/higher than the dock. Very unusual.

This has nothing to do with the tide. I just thought I'd throw it in.

After lunch the water had gone down substantially.

But if you notice that dock in the distance,
the tide was still just about level with it.

Unrelated to the tide, I feel a compelling urge
to paint a face on the front of this boat. I almost see one
as it is in the chipped paint.

As has been the case here lately, I don't have any stories to tell today, which is why I'm talking about painting faces on boats, for example.

Actually there are plenty of stories I could write, but they belong in an entirely separate blog under a new/anonymous name.

(I'm actually seriously contemplating this. It was one of the many topics of discussion with BHE on Sunday. By the way, click on her initials there to see her post.)

So rather than words, this week I'll just show more pictures from Sunday's journey to Merroir.

 I know it's not very exciting but then again not much around here is.

Which is just fine by me.

What's going on in your world?

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*P.S. Today my father is at the hospital having a defibrillator put in to hopefully help with his arrhythmia.  He'll be there most of the day, maybe overnight depending on how it goes.