Oh, She Was Mighty

First there was the calm before the storm.

We gazed admiringly at everything, just in case . . .

. . . then brought our tomatoes and hot peppers inside.

The kitchen felt like a greenhouse. Or farmer's market.

We picked all the ripe tomatoes off the plants that were too big to bring in . . .

. . . Oh, we were ready.

And then we waited . . .

When you're waiting for a Hurricane to hit, it's important to have lots of wine and lots of good food.

On Sunday morning, we do what we always do during storms: gather with the neighbors on their (bare) porch.

And then Mistah, our neighbor Frankie and I decided to take a walk to see what Irene had wrought.

Tree down.

Another tree down.

Oh dear.

There were limbs and leaves down everywhere, and although it was windy at our house, it was way windier out in the world.

Just a-blowin' . . .

Oh dear.

And then we reached the Thames River. The River was choppy gray and awesome; sometimes it's as still as glass.

As we walked south toward the mouth of the River and the confluence of the River and the Long Island Sound . . .

the waves got bigger . . .

. . . and the wind got fiercer. Even Frankie's hair got mussed.

And then the River started looking not like a river at all.

We went to a party at this house 2 summers ago and the water did not look like this.

The Thames River does not typically have breaking waves.

Mistah was having a fun time frolicking, although I wanted to head back home. I did not want to be those people you read about in the newspaper:

"Three found dead after being hit by a falling tree and a downed power line . . . "

"They were nice enough people, but boy were they dumb."

So we started walking home.

Oh dear. Look how that tree pulled up the whole sidewalk.

I am not a big fan of the downed power line.

Tons of peeps were out and about, checking out the damage.

I was always about 10 steps ahead of the boys.

"Whyever did this tree fall down?"

Something's been industriously eating its insides for eons.

And . . . off I walked.

True dat.

Later in the day Mistah hopped in our neighbor Keri's car and they headed to Ocean Beach. Like the friendly Benzo ahead of them, they discovered it closed. With the most awesome sign ever.

Oh dear.

Ocean Beach, from the Neptune Park side.

The peeps checked out closed Ocean Beach by walking along the Neptune Park seawall.

"Two found dead after being struck by a rogue wave . . . "

"They were nice enough people, but boy were they dumb."

And there she was. Our symbol of safety out at the mouth of the river. Ledge Light. Fazed not at all.

This guy was particularly exuberant taking photos of the proceedings.

You recognize the rocks, right? That's where Mistah and Jacquie's kids do their annual photo shoot.

And this the view from where we sit on the beach, day after day, all summer long.

The surf was pounding, and the boats were floundering . . .

. . . but Ledge Light remained calm, strong and true.

A Beacon of Light and Safety in a Hurricane.