Harvest Time: 11 '19

We are supposed to get some overnight freezes beginning tomorrow.  Yesterday I moved all of the tender tropical plants into the Carolina room,  and  began  harvesting what remains of out summer edible crops.  The house smells so good from all of the   Greek and Asian Basil that I cut cleaned and preserved. Then this morning I pulled and strung the last of our chili peppers.   They're such a cheery reminder of warmer days. 

On a Happier Note: 9 '18

I just heard that the Pawleys Island Chapel is safe,

and

So os the Shell Tree,
and

There are now Two foxes on Pawleys Island,
and

I saw about 30 Ibis  in the PI Marsh today,
and

The goats are back on Drunken Jack's Goat Island,
and

The Spoonbill are still feeding at HBSP

and

Life  in the Low country is returning to normal

It's raining, its pouring: 9'18

We got 10.28 inches of rain in the last 4 days in Pawleys... That's more than we would sometimes get all year in California... and it is still coming down hard.

One last Look: 9 '18

One Last Look

 The house is prepped for Hurricane Florence and the car is packed. Ms. Kat and I are evacuating to Augusta Georgia until it is safe to come home. We are planning to be there for a week or however long it takes for the coastal flooding to reside.  Augusta will be on the fringes of the storm so the effects should be milder.

Storm of a lifetime: 9 '18

This is t the news I woke up to this morning. The National Weather Service is calling Florence, "the Storm of a Lifetime". Up until this morning, they were forecasting landfall to the North of us, but now they are saying she will twist and head south along the So Carolina coast..wreaking havoc on the coasts of both North and South Carolina and bringing extreme flooding to the midlands of both states. Up until this morning, I had a small hope of not having to evacuate...but this settles it. We're outta here!

Bye Bye Butterfly: 11 '17

This summer CC  planted three Butterfly weed plants (Asclepias tuberosa)  in  the front yard.   These easy to grow North American natives are trouble free and  produced umbels of bright orange, yellow or red blooms all summer long. 

In turn, we were rewarded with a constant collection of beautiful butterflies which were attracted to the plant's color and copious production of nectar.

Sadly, the temperatures  have begun to drop in this area.  The plants are still ablaze with blooms, but the butterflies have migrated on.

New Bern to Cliffs of Nuese SP: 11 '16

The site of Cliffs of the Neuse State Park, with impressive 90' cliffs overlooking the Neuse River, has been a landmark for centuries.

Five hiking trails explore the riverside habitats and their mature forests and lead to some quiet fishing spots along the waterway. 

We took the 350 yard trail which led to an overlook of the Neuse River 

and a close up view of the cliffs . ( They are hard to see through the trees from this angle)

Then the trail angled down hill to the edge of the Neuse River where there were

some beautiful reflections of the trees in the water.

Unfortunately, even with bug spray, we were being swarmed by mosquitoes, so we turned around and attempted to go downriver on the Spanish Moss Trail,

only to encounter the same swarms of insects

as the trail dropped closer to the river the river. 

A favorite facility for the local communities is an 11-acre swimming lake with a bathhouse, grass-covered lawn, sandy beach and diving platform with rental boats available. Expansive picnic grounds are nearby. Interestingly we did not encounter too many insects on the trail that circled the lake

A visitor center offers kid friendly exhibits that explore the natural and cultural history of the region, complementing regular interpretive programs.

The park has group campsites and a 35-site family campground,, but we wouldn't recommend staying there unless (a) you are willing to bathe in bug repellent, or (b) the weather is too cold for mosquitoes.)

Outside of our plantation: 10 '16

Outside of our plantation, conditions were much the same across most of the Grand Strand With the exception of the barrier islands and ocean-facing properties, there was very little structural damage, but there were a lot of downed trees that played havoc with the roads. When the trees toppled  atop  the power lines all along Highway 17,  it not only stopped power to the nearby homes and stores, it eliminated every traffic light  along the entire length of that primary coastal thorough fare.   Driving was so hazardous that many schools remained closed even after the storm had passed because it was not safe for parents or school buses to try to transport the kids on the highways.

Fortunately, along the Grand Strand there was not much water on the roadways. The only flooding I found on Hywy 17 was near the entrance to  Huntington Beach State Park.

  We had to slow down to go through it, but the water was not deep enough to stall out in. 

The ocean facing properties took a really heavy hit from Mathew. Even before the front half of the storm had passed, local news stations were reporting that the waves had breached the dunes in front of the big hotels in Myrtle Beach.

 The ocean front beach is now missing from Pawleys Island.

But  on the bright side, 

we have a new beach on the marsh side of Spring Road.

Both Litchfield and Pawleys Island suffered heavy beach erosion.  They had just replenished the sand on those beaches after last October's storm surge; now it is all gone again. 

Fortunately,  beyond a house which caught fire and a wind-damaged roof, there does not appear to be much other structural damage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQ29GPKnTTg&sns=fb

Above is a link to an aerial view of the damage to Pawleys Island’s South end (courtesy of Georgetown County).  All that sand you see the National Guard crews moving used to be dunes in front of the houses; Now Spring Road, behind the houses, is a creek side beach.

Georgetown,  is another story. This small river town is located 10 miles South of us on the Wynah Bay. Portions of the town were hit hard by the rain, with 5' of water in some areas, including Front Street. Quite a few homes, apartments, businesses, and automobiles took a hit. For awhile, Hwy 17 was closed on both sides of Georgetown, although it is open now. Georgetown schools have been closed this week, and will continue closed on Weds. I have not heard anything specifically about Maryville, so I can't comment. The Georgetown Times has been covering the situation down there well -www.southstrandnews.com/georgetown-times

Matthew vs. Pawleys Plantation Golf Course: 10 '16

 

If anything in the golf course could be said to have taken a hit from Matthew, it is the golf course.   Like all the rest of our plantation there were a lot of fallen trees and debris all over the course. Their sandy soil is often very loose from all the water used to keep the fairways grass green.  That made it easy for trees to be toppled in the wind. 

Fallen tree on 18^th Fairway near Club House

But the fairways closest to the marsh were dealt the heaviest blow as they are most exposed to the wind.

Trees toppled on 18th Black tee off (above)

And Red tee off (below)

The wind also removed most of the sand from the back nine sand traps (and in some locations replaced the sand with trash)

The sand trap on 13 is down to bare earth and at marsh level.

The marsh bordering fairways also are located in the lowest elevations on the plantation. Five of the back none fairways showed evidence of being partially covered in salt water during the peak of the storm surge.  Needless to say, salt water and golf grass do not mix well,  so most the marsh bordering fairways will need new soil and sod.

Marsh Cord grass left behind on the 12th, 

16th, 

Marsh cord grass  on  the 17th 

and

  18^th fairways.

Dock and cordgrass on 12th fairway

There was enough of a high water surge to float some storm loosened crab docks onto the 12^th and 16th fairways

 Crab Dock on edge of 16th fairway and its sandtrap

The golf course maintenance people already have most of the debris cleaned up, but it is going to take awhile to get the course area re-sodded.

The day after Matthew:10 '16

The day after Matthew rolled through Pawleys Island the skies were clear, the temperatures hovered around 75 degrees F., and the wind was down to a gentle breeze. We were able to go out of so we started checking out the rest of our community as it became safe to so.

Tree down at 15-1 Twelve Oaks Drive

There was tree litter and broken branches everywhere along our block, but the road was still safe to drive and walk on.  A large tree had uprooted and fallen at the end of our cul-de-sac,

A couple of others had fallen in some residents back yards. e.g.15-1 above.

There was standing water where the storm drain had backed up during high tide, but there was no apparent damage to anyone’s home on our street.

Deeper in the plantation there was a lot more clean up to done.  Fortune smiled on our community. We did not see any damage to homes or cars or other structures. There was however a massive amount of broken / dangling limbs, and fallen branches, and  uprooted trees.

Dangling tree branch on PP way

Fallen branches  on Tanglewood Dr.

Entrance to Weehaka Woods blocked by fallen pine

Most of the roads were completely impassable due to downed trees and debris.

There were 4 downed trees at front entrance blocking anyone from entering or leaving or leaving the plantation.

The good news is that the retaining ponds did not overflow, so the road hazards within the plantation did not include standing water.

Ponds near Savannah Dr.  X Old Augusta Dr.  X PP Way 

The Ponds were full but not overflowing.

Downed Tree on Tanglewood by 10th Tee off

Clean up crews had started at first light cutting downed trees and cutting broken dangling branches, and  pushing debris into big piles along the sides of the road.  The pile shown below was from clearing a single lane through just one side of Tanglewood Dr. The other half of the road had not yet been clear That pile stretched the entire length of the road and measured 5 feet high by eight feet deep.

Debris piled along one section of Tanglewood Drive

There was so much to be done that by 10 am they had only managed to clear a single lane from the Front gate to the Clubhouse.  

But the clean up crews really work fast. By late afternoon, Pawleys Plantation way could handle two way traffic and all other roads were accessible by at least a single lane.