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Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Trickles and Torrents



Our family beach house is right on an inlet off
Peconic Bay on eastern Long Island.


Until my sister Peggy and her husband Bill
drove out there this weekend, we didn't know
how it had fared in Tropical Storm Irene.


We were lucky.
No big damage; a few wonky shingles, and shrubs and grass
burned to a crispy shade of brown by the wind-driven salt off the water.

Our next-door neighbor was not so lucky.

In the picture below, what Irene did to that neighbor's bulkhead.
Most of it ended up in pieces, in other people's yards.
Peg's phone shot of the neighbor's bulkhead.  What a mess.
Our bulkhead is fine, thank goodness!


The grass, above, was green before Irene came a-calling.
But the salt water breached the bulkheads and surrounded
the houses, covering the lawns.  Grass doesn't much like salt water.


This is what the grass looked like a few weeks ago:
Yes, it was this green.  Not anymore.
Bushes and trees aren't fond of salt water either;
the plants that face the sea are now mostly brown.
Tuesday's rain has rinsed them clean if their homeowners didn't
get a chance, but we won't see green from some of them until  spring.

*****************************************************
Back here in New Jersey, we're getting our own shades of brown.
And it's too soon to suit me!
Tuesday's rain and wind -- the last hurrah of
Hurricane Lee --brought down leaves
from a big oak at the corner of our driveway.
Lots of leaves.
I am still surprised when I see my house all white.  I love it!
But this picture of That Old House, and That Old Oak, taken through the very wet windshield of my car,
looks kind of cool, don't you think?  Only I'd like it better with more leaves on the tree, and fewer on the ground!


Please keep your fingers crossed that the rain ends soon in the North East,
or we might find ourselves flooding, again.  And we really don't want that!

It's Outdoor Wednesday at Susan's A Southern Daydreamer blog.  Click here!

I hope wherever you are, you have the right amount of wet -- not too much, not too little!  -- Cass

10 comments:

  1. Very beautiful part of the world. Richard from My Old Historic House.

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  2. We've got lots of leaves down too -- brown dried up leaves -- by ridding itself of "the weakest link" our trees are trying to survive the drought!!!!
    Hopefully, we will get some of that rain!!!

    Love your photos!

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  3. I'm glad your bulkhead wasn't damaged but sorry to hear that your neighbors did not fare so well. I'm with you- I am not ready for falling leaves just yet! xo Diana

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  4. Wonderful news you fared well thru the storm; sorry your neighbor did not. Love the rainy window shot of the house ... beautiful!, Cass. Are you going to get any of this hurricane Lee remnants as we are in Md.? Be safe.
    Have a lovely week
    TTFN ~
    Hugs,
    Marydon

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  5. Hi! I wish the old house would preserved its beauty for a long long time. thanks for sharing this.

    philippine real estate

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  6. Just a quick note.... I am having a Halloween Giveaway... Come on over!!
    Marilyn

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  7. Though we can get lots of rain here we are so lucky to not be in the storm paths like so many of you in the US.
    You are very lucky but then again you already know that.

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  8. Hi Cass,
    So glad you came through the hurricane okay and so sorry for your neighbor. Stay safe in the Lee rains. We could use a little of it here. It is so dry and wildfires doing tons of damage.
    Thank you for stopping by and your kind comment. So nice to meet you. I so enjoyed my visit here as well.
    And, I love your old house.

    Hugs, Celestina Marie

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  9. Thank goodness the storm spared your property. Hard to believe how many leaves were on that oak tree and hard to believe fall is here already, too! I never gave it a thought that grass and plants on the shore would end up with salt damage; I thought that only plants here in the Rust Belt were affected by the salt we have to put on the roads to make driving possible.

    Hope everything recovers real soon.

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  10. Lovely house and town. I lived in Jersey (loved it) a long time then moved west. No falling leaves here, just heat, Joshua trees and the usual desert gremlins. Autumn back east is wonderful. My sister lives in a 300+ year old home in Bucks County and in her words "it looks it"!

    Thank you for visiting my blog. I will be a frequent visitor here.

    Best Regards,
    Catherine

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