SILHOUETTE

Last night was one of those nights that you hope you can lock in your memory for a lifetime. The sunset was beyond spectacular and changed in color and intensity every few minutes. I finally gave up trying to take a good picture, realizing that what I was seeing could not be captured by a mere camera. So, I poured a glass of wine and sat on the dock with my dog and just watched.

A poor representation of last night's light show.

FIRE SKY

Softly the evening came.

The sun from the western horizon

Like a magician extended his golden wand o'er the landscape;

Twinkling vapors arose; and sky and water and forest

Seemed all on fire at the touch, and melted and mingled together.

~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Escambia Bay lit by the setting sun.

WEEKEND REFLECTIONS 2

PILINGS

Still water; mirror reflections

THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM

The last sunset before Ida blew into town.

THE AFTERMATH

"The first rule of hurricane coverage is that every broadcast must begin with palm trees bending in the wind." ~Carl Hiaasen

We toiled for nine hours to bring everything on ground level upstairs and discovered that we had way too many plants in pots and too much outdoor furniture and garden art. Boats had to be moved to higher ground and bikes brought indoors. Hurricane shutters had to be put up and closed. By the time we finished, Ida was not as threatening as when we began preparations, but we spent the night at a hotel anyway. Our yard is prone to flooding and our cars are always at risk, so it's easier to leave and come back when the storm has passed. This is what we found.

Yes, those are waves in our yard. The dock is mostly underwater.

The front yard didn't fair much better, though the water is not quite so deep. Fingers are crossed that Ida was truly the last storm of the season. Now begins the clean-up.

NOVEMBER HURRICANE!?!

The preparations are done, the shutters are on and now we're just waiting to see how much punch Hurricane Ida has by the time she reaches Pensacola. Hopefully not much. She's a tropical storm right now and we hope she stays that way as she makes landfall here sometime early tomorrow morning.

This is an AP photo of the surf on Navarre Beach this morning, already kicking up some pretty good sized waves. Should all be over by tomorrow evening without, I hope, very little damage to the area.