It's hot: 7 '22

 

Day 9 without AC! Yesterday (Friday) the AC Serviceman confirmed our AC unit's air pump motor has burned out. Now the question is how quickly can they get a new motor in to replace the broken one.

Pawley's Island Beach Walk: 1 '21

  There isn't a cloud in the sky and the sun is out.

We decided  it would be a good day to take a walk on the beach, before any winter weather sets in again, so we set off for the North-end of Pawleys Island's Beach

The ocean was a bit turbulent, and the wind sharp,  but it wasn't crowded.

We were quite shocked by how much beach erosion had occurred since we last visited this end of Pawleys Island.  That big circle of water in the foreground of the photo above used to be all sandy beach.

And the channel between Pawleys  Island and Litchfield Island has widened so that its edges almost reach the homes on the ends of each island. This photo was taken at low tide. In the past, we used to be able to walk across this channel at low tide;  I doubt that that is possible anymore. 

Some of that sand washed directly offshore, where it is causing rougher wave action than we've ever seen.

Can you feel that riptide pulling you into the Atlantic?

Even the surfers were staying out of the water today.

All the more room for us to roam the beach without having to wear a COVID mask, or make wide detours to aid contact with strangers. 

First of the year PI Beach Walk: 1 '21

 

The rain stopped long enough today to allow us to take our 'First of the Year' beach walk on Pawleys Island.

It was gray, and a little windy, but not too cold, 

and,  we pretty much had the whole South end of the island to ourselves.

December 31st Beach Walk 12 '20

Ever since we moved to Pawleys's Island  

Bruce and I have made it a tradition to visit Pawleys Island Beach 

on the last and the first day of each year.

Most years, we take a long walk along the shoreline,

but today it's been raining hard all morning. 

 We counted ourselves lucky to catch a short break in the clouds

 which allowed us enough time to dash to the beach.

It was obvious from the dark clouds 

which were closing in from the west of us

that there wouldn't be enough time for us to take a walk on the beach 

this year.

And judging by the height of the tide on the marsh,

if we lingered too long,

we might even be at risk of  the high tide flooding the streets

 leaving us stuck on the island

until the tide receded.

 

So we contented ourselves 

with watching the

glow on the marsh magically change,

as the sun slipped in and out of the clouds.

By the time we got home, it was pouring again.  

We'll try again tomorrow to take a beach walk,

 but the next several days are predicted to have a high probability of precipitation, so we probably won't get to take our first 2021 beach walk

 until Monday, Jan 4, 2021, or later.

Frozen: 12 '20

 

Poor Birdies!

All their birdbaths are frozen.

I had to thaw our  hummingbird feeder this morning

 and refill it with warm nectar 

so our wee little hummer didn't starve.

The HOA lumberjacks have been busy: 11 '20

We were interrupted in the middle of our breakfast by the whine of what sounded like chainsaws right outside our back door.  

We weren't far off; a crew of lumberjacks was working on cutting down a gigantic  cedar growing  20 feet from our next-door neighbor's back door.

It seemed so sad to see such a beautiful old tree cut down,  

but much of its trunk and many of its limbs were hollowed out and very brittle making it a serious hazard in the tropical storms winds which sweep through our area every summer and fall.

For similar reasons, the HOA was having the towering pine trees planted along our property line removed.   The tops of these trees snap like match sticks in strong winds.  With the prevailing winds likely to blow them right atop of our condos, our HOA decided it was best to have them removed.

I know we will miss seeing a forest at our back door, but I also know we won't miss the safety concerns those trees have created throughout every Hurricane season. 

We Survived ETA, 11 '20

Tropical storm ETA did her darndest to damage our yard decor last night.  The winds and rain were quite strong, but the worst ETA managed to do was tilt a couple of scarecrows.  Even the flag and Samoset  remained in place.   Considering today is Friday the 13th 2020  we feel blessed.

 

 

  

 

 

Here we go

Rain Train is on its way!

Someone needs to stop blessing the rain down in Africa.  LOL

Tropical Storm Isaias Headed Right at Us 7 '20

Aaaakkkkkk! I was afraid this would happen. At least we are well prepared to stay, or evacuate as needed. We're in Zone A but If the winds stay below 70 MPH we probably won't have to evac. ( All depends upon the tide levels at the time the storm hits us.). The only thing I'm worried about if we stay is whether we will be able to get the plywood up over our windows.

Stormy Day 4"20

We woke up this morning to thunder, lightening and

zero visibility rainfall.

It sounds like the world is coming to an end  again

but then again we have a tin roof on our house and even a drizzle sounds like

a hurricane is pounding us.

I tried to turn on the weather channel,  but the TV wouldn't turn on.  

( Damn remote is broken

 and Spectrum is taking their time getting us a new one)

So I  dialed into our Myrtle Beach live news station on my PC.

It turns out that the storm we were expecting yesterday

  has finally arrived complete with tornado warnings .

Unfortunately this station is not as helpful as we would like.

Their  Weather Doppler Station is located in North Carolina (about 50 miles North of us), 

and  some dense tall trees on a neighbors property

 just to the South of that station

are blocking their signal from reaching Pawleys Island.  

The only thing the station's newscaster can tell us about our area is

 that conditions are ripe for a tornado  touching down.  

(Right now that threat seems to be  about 5 miles to the North of us 

and moving in our direction).

 Due to the low visibility  the road conditions are hazardous.  

We are being advised to stay indoors and away from windows. 

Needless to say there will be no COVID emergency meal kits  delivered into the area today;

So this weather-maker  is imposing some very real hardships

 on some of our communities' low income families.

Date nite at Murrells Inlet and Hagley's landing

Bruce decided it was time for us to have a date nite so we headed off to Murrells Inlet to have a couple of appetizers and a tall glass of Octoberfest, and listen to some live music. 

As we watched the day fade away, it soon became apparent that we were in for a beautiful sunset. Only one problem, we were facing east, and the sun sets in the West.

So it was off to Hagley's Landing which faces due West.

It was well worth the effort. We were rewarded with a truly spectacular ending to an already lovely day.

9 Holes at Indian Wells: 9 '19

We had beautiful weather all day today. It was warm ( 80 F) and sunny, but with a light cooling breeze. It doesn't get much better than this here in the deep South, so when Bruce asked if I would like to play a round of 9 hole golf with him at any local course of my choice, I said "Sure". And asked him to book a Tee-off time in the mid-afternoon at the Indian Wells Course( in Myrtle Beach).

We've played this course many times before, and it is one of my favorites. The greens are tight and technically challenging which means this course favors those who use their brains over their brawn in the game. The fairways are not extremely long, and there are frequent water obstacles and changes of direction in the middle of the fairways. To keep a low score here you have to spend a lot of time calculating where to lay up, so you can drive a second shot over the water, and in a different direction than your first shot. Bruce and I both enjoy this kind of mental and physical challenge. Neither of us were playing at par, but we came home happy (and very tired.)

Drone's eye view of PI after Dorian passed: 9 ' 19

This is a great drone's view of the creekside aftermath of Dorian on Pawleys Island starting from the north end of Pawleys Island down to the south end where it narrows to one street width. BTW scene 2:20 / 4:12 the camera is looking straight at the Pawleys Plantation causeway ( the long boardwalk through the marsh which leads to the island green at fairway 13). The causeway points directly to the end of our street with our home just behind the trees at the top of the scene. That should give you a good idea of why we watch the tidal flooding warnings so carefully.

Drone flyover of the PI creek

All's well Post Dorian: 9 '19

All's well on the Eastern front.

 

We had a large tree topple in the woods behind us, and another very large oak has uplifted its roots and is leaning precariously (away from us, TG). 

But otherwise, all is good. We spent yesterday restoring the house, and yard to pre-hurricane condition. ( put the carpets back on the floor, put all the furniture back, the emergency survival gear is stored away until the next storm, washed all the windows, put screens back on, moved potted plants back outside, etc. etc. etc.) We're pooped but grateful to be alive and well enough to do all this.

3:30 pm Dorian Update: 9 '19

The center of Dorian is currently about 100 miles South of us -  approximately even with Jacksonville, Florida.  She is still a Cat II with 105 mph winds at the center and is moving north along the coast at 8 mph.  We are expecting the heaviest rain and winds to hit our area around midnight, and stay with us all through tomorrow (Thursday).  Even so, we are already getting some pounding bands of rain in our area.  As you can see from the forecast, the eye is likely to pass very close to our home so things are going to get worse for the next 24 to 48 hours before they get better.  By Friday,  Dorian will have moved on to North Carolina and the Outer Banks. 

Do We Stay or Do We Go: 9 "19

 We are still debating whether to go or whether to stay.  There is no change in Dorian's path or intensity as of 8 am this morning, but to be on the safe side, the Governor of South Carolina has issued a Mandatory Hurricane Evaluation Order for the entire coastline of South Carolina. 'Mandatory' means they strongly advise you to leave' and you are on your own if you stay. The cops aren't going to throw you in jail if you choose to stay, but don't call for help if you find yourself in over your head. 

Right now Dorian is still a Cat V hurricane over the Bahamas. It is moving at 1 mph toward Florida. Dorian is predicted to be a CAT II or III when it reaches us on Thursday morning. At that strength, the biggest threat to our home is going to be from falling trees. We have a lot of tall, massive 100+-year-old oaks and pines directly behind our home. In our sandy low-country soil, the rain will loosen their roots enough that even a 40mph wind gust could topple them. I will post another update after the 11 am US Weather service refresh on Dorian's path and strength.

Mandatory Evacuations Ordered 9 '19

Oh Man! Not again! This means us. We're in Zone A (Highest Risk). Now we need to figure out which way to run which won't make things worse. If we go North, Dorian will follow us; If we go south, we will be driving right into the storm. West maybe?? The problem with South Carolina is that there are so many rivers to cross and so few major highways, that getting from point A to point B is always a slow crawl through a maze of farm community back-roads? I was really hoping to avoid having to evacuate.

Mandatory evacuations ordered for all South Carolina Coastal Communities.

Update on Dorian 9 '19

Hurricane Dorian is a CAT 5 storm with winds gusting to 185mph. We expect to see CAT2 conditions in our area by Thursday. Except that we are not putting up plywood over the windows this year, our house is fully prepped for the storm. 

On the outside, we stripped out most of the flowering annuals;

 a hurricane always seems to flatten them to the ground.

We will be removing the vinyl window panels in the Carolina Room on Wednesday so they don't get damaged by the hurricane-force winds.  Last night we moved all of the house plants in the Carolina Room away from the windows and stacked them close together in a corner. that way they will still get some light but the wind will be less likely to be able to toss them around.

 

Our house sits at an elevation of  13',  and is just barely outside of a flood zone, so we always have to prepare for the possibility that we may get water inside if the hurricane coincides with a high tide.  So just in case we get do get a flood, we rolled up all the carpets, and stacked them atop the table.  Then we stacked all of our indoor upholstered furniture on smaller tables so they are at least or more feet off the ground.  

Of course, that also means we can't use the table or any of our living room furniture, so we brought the wrought iron patio furniture in from the Carolina room.

Our home is all-electric, so any loss of power would mean we would have difficulty cooking.

To compensate we brought our portable grill and a dozen canisters of propane gas inside.

We've also stacked the freezer full of bottles of frozen water to help keep the food cool as long as possible and placed hurricane lanterns and flashlights in every room.

We've discussed whether we should try to evacuate or not. Just in case a mandatory evacuation is ordered, our bags and emergency gear are packed but, unless things change radically over the course of the next few days, we will stay put.

Count down to Dorian is on: 8 '19

Just to muddy up the waters a little more, it looks like we might have a major hurricane bearing down on us next week. Dorian is a currently rated as a Cat IV hurricane which is large and powerful enough to engulf the entire state of Florida. Up until yesterday, it was aimed directly at that State, but the most recent European models all show it taking a turn and heading Northward towards Georgia and the Carolina Coastlines. That means we have a lot of preparation to do to get the house and yard ready for the storm that is coming. We spent the morning stalking up on food etc. and rechecking our emergency gear.

The good news is that I had already started our hurricane planning and preparedness last June (Just before hurricane season started), so much of our evacuation and our post-hurricane survival supplies are up to date, and readily accessible.

Hurricane Dorian: Here we go again! 8 '19

Ugh! Here we go again. A National Hurricane Center meteorologist says the threat to the U.S. mainland from Tropical Storm Dorian has grown, with forecasts showing it could hit southeast coast as a Category 3 hurricane. Dennis Feltgen says Dorian may also grow in size and could land anywhere from South Florida to South Carolina on Sunday or Monday.

Hurricane Dorian over the US Virgin was a Cat 1  at 3:47 pm EST

The good news is that we are much better prepared to evacuate if need be this year than we were last year. ( No kitty-cat to worry about, emergency supplies up to date, emergency personal supplies still packed and ready to go, all potted plants and patio furniture already in the house because we had to move them for the exterior maintenance that was being done on our unit's deck this past week. 

The bad news is that we won't be able to board up the windows this year. And since this hurricane's track is still so ill-defined, we don't really know yet which way to go to stay safe.