And Then There Was......Nothing

It dawned a beautiful day today.  We had Carolina blue skies, big, white, puffy clouds and a soft breeze.  It was the kind of breeze that messes up your hair and smells fresh as it goes by.  

Dorian, in my opinion, was a non-event.  We watched a movie last night and while we did that, I watched the wind bend the trees and plants in the front yard and make the tall shrubs in the backyard sway.  It rained, but not like it did with Flo.  This was a different kind of storm--the kind that used wind to draw attention to its' presence.  Not the kind that sounds like a train, or had torrential rain banging down on the house and property.  It was quiet and windy.  

I woke up at various points in the night, not from the storm, but because I was listening for it--but I heard nothing. 

This morning, we found minimal damage, which is great and started out the day by putting things back on the lanai.  It was a good excuse to clean.  The hardest thing was re-staking the tree that blew over.   We had two trees in the back.  Flo ravaged one and it died.  She uprooted the other one, but Tony  managed to put it back in the ground and it has been growing very well, but it is weakened, so it does fall over in heavy wind.      

And so, we've had 3 hurricanes in 8 years.  This is part of southern living and here we are.  Who knows the name of the hurricane that is going to visit next  year?  Whoever it is, we'll be ready.

Here are pictures of our small "damage."

The huge plant Tony had near our front door

The plant and holder that we had on a plant

stand on the front porch

The tree that keeps blowing over!

A large frond from palm tree

A tree in the wetland came down

Meet Flo's Cousin, Dorian

Well, we are back in hurricane season.  Seems like Flo was just here and now we're hosting Dorian.  

David and Brenda did not come up because of the uncertainty of Dorian in Florida.  Turns out, it was a non event for them, which is good. 

Our phones went off very early this morning--I think it was  5 something, with news that we were under a hurricane warning/alert.  Good to know at 5 a.m., in the dark. 

It has been raining all day with bursts of wind coming through.  It's also been very dark all day.  We spent the morning taking the lanai apart and covering the furniture.  The generator is on our front porch ready and waiting, just in case.  

It hasn't been all Dorian doom and gloom.  Yesterday, we did some running around to get extra gas and a few other things.  We stopped at the Vet's office because Tony won a prize.  They had a towel drive--bring in your old towels for the Vet tech's to use in the back and enter a drawing.  Tony's name was pulled and he got some cute stuff.  Dixie got a new stuffed animal and a backpack, we got plastic glasses for the beach, some coffee cups and Tee shirts.  The best prize was another "dot" to  hook up to Alexa, our "personal assistant."  We can keep this one on the lanai and not have to pull the other one out of the living room when we want to listen to music.  Ah, the ultimate in lazy!

And so, there is nothing more we can do but wait.  Dorian is about 85 miles away from Wilmington (as of 5:30 p.m.) and moving north.   We have Dixie's medicine on hand and hope to get through this quickly.  

I  have added photos to show our new decorating style, ala Dorian:

This was the sunset a few days ago

The animals have a sense about storms....

Tony, Dixie and their Vet Loot!

I can't wait to see her play with the cow

No more relaxing lanai--we have the furniture covered, the grill is inside and the rocking chairs from the front porch are holding things down, as well as weights, tables and other heavy stuff!

The rain started early

And has been steady all day

We took the flowers down

And put the generator up...

By the time the storm is over, this will look like a 

swimming pool, not a down spout

Dixie was quite annoyed that we took her lanai bed apart....

So, she fixed it in the dining room!  OK,  maybe Tony helped

My tea cart is upside down in the living room

 with all of the lanai stuff on it

Baby Shark

After 8 years of being in North Carolina, I still am in awe of the beauty of the ocean.   We went to the beach last week and enjoyed not only the weather, but the sights and sounds.  

I watched a man with two fishing poles trying to cast a net for what Tony called "bait fish."  We saw a young man surfing on one of those small, oblong boards along the edge of the water.  When we first arrived, he was having difficulty getting on the board, but soon, he was jumping on it and skimming through the water.   We saw dogs, birds, people who should have been wearing skimpy bathing suits and those who should not. 

This time, we even saw a young man in a hat with a feather and what appeared to be a velvet medieval costume.  Some people asked him why he was dressed that way and he replied that he just wanted to make a spectacle of himself and get reactions from people.  It worked.  

As always, it was a nice time and full of fun.  

One of the highlights of the visit came as we were getting ready to leave.  The man that spent the day casting finally caught a fish.  That was the good news.  The bad news was that he caught a baby shark.  

That caused a bit of excitement as the children on the beach ran over to see it.  They were afraid it was going to bite their toes, but still wanted to touch it.  While the man was getting something to cut the hook out of the shark's mouth, a woman kept the shark cool and well watered and explained how the shark had to stay in water to breathe.  

If you haven't heard the song, "Baby Shark," you have to find it and listen to it.  I guarantee, it will get you moving!

After telling the kids about the shark and letting them get a good look at it, the man put it back in the ocean.  One day, it will be a big shark.  If we run into it again, I hope it remembers that we all were kind to it!

Here are some pictures of our day:

Getting ready to cast

Easy flight

Checking out the "tourists" on his beach.  I call this bird watching!

Getting ready to jump on the board. 

 I love the tension in his fingers. 

 You can almost see his heart racing.

And he's on......

And there he goes, down the beach...

A pirate?  

Even surfer guy stopped to check this out!

Uh OH, something is on the line....

Here comes the baby shark

Getting closer, but still fighting

Small, but a mighty fighter

He's tired

He's out of the water, but not for long

The fisherman puts him back in the water to rest

The hook has to come out before the shark 

can go back into the ocean

Thrashing while waiting for the hook to be removed

At rest

 

Getting ready to have the hook taken out

Baby shark is frowning, but he's glad to have the hook removed

  

The fisherman tells the kids why he is releasing the baby shark....

Run Away, do-do-do-do-do, Run Away, Baby Shark......

  

New Toy, New Plans

Our Labor Day plans have changed thanks to Hurricane Dorian.  Just like last year with Florence, travel is dangerous and supplies like water and gas are low or gone in many areas of Florida, so David, Brenda and Alex aren't coming up to see us.  David said that watching the progress of a hurricane is like being stalked by a turtle.  How true.  

Although I am disappointed not to be seeing Alex (and David and Brenda too, but she is cuter!) I understand that with the  uncertainty of the hurricane, now isn't the time to be travelling unless you are evacuating. 

It's ironic that a big part of Dorian was originally aimed at Florida, but now it may go up the coast and hit us and even Tony Jr.  That's what you get when you live in Florida and the Carolina's.   We are not really concerned at this point, but Tony did get extra gas for our generator just in case. 

Hurricane Florence interrupted our trip to the Outer Banks last year so we have rescheduled for the second week of September.  We are looking forward to relaxing and seeing the sights.  I'm hoping to get some good pictures as well. 

Since I can't take pictures of Alex with my new camera, I've been wandering around the back yard and in the development taking pictures.  We are going to the beach today (and I will be wrapped up like a mummy) so hopefully, the fish will be jumping and the birds will be swooping!

Here are some of the pictures I have taken so far:

A beautiful sky in our back yard

 

Just as pretty in the front

Flowers in the front

Water tipping the funnel at the lazy river

Water hitting the surface of the lazy river 

 

Water in slow motion hitting the surface

Dixie was annoyed that I didn't include her in the last blog....

Taking it easy

A grasshopper on the screen 

A garden spider on the side of the house

Flowers at the entrance of Waterford Development

Alex.  I didn't take this picture, but I love it!