We’re still in the midst of a northeastern. The wind is steady at 19 MPH with gusts twice that.
Much of the beach sand has been moved about. In some places many pieces of concrete debris buried under a foot of sand are now exposed. An old public boat ramp of broken six-inch thick concrete next to the low damaged pier that had been sitting atop the sand is now almost totally concealed. That jetty of two courses of stacked one-ton blocks where sand had been removed on the downriver side close to the bank turns out to have a lower course of blocks under the sand on up to the bank. Sand had washed back another three feet closer to the bank and exposed the extension of the bottom row.
Wind has smoothed the beach and in one spot sand is visibly blowing across the top of another jetty. A little is lifted high enough to hit me in the face. The wind is at our backs on the way down and I have to lean into it on the way back. We can get past the big tree, but water has been driven up to the bank beyond it, so we head back. The sink hole by one jetty is now full, but the sand around it is at the same level and the level on the low side is just a few inches lower.
The river is very muddy and whitecaps from yesterday never left. No oyster boats are out and the sky is almost clear so two passenger liners are visible as they head for the airport. A single contrail also shows high above. Only a couple birds are out, one sea bird and a vulture or two. Any haze has definitely been removed this morning.
I did bring a plastic bag today and fill it with about fifteen plastic juice, water and oil containers. These are left near the house while Izzy and I take the road to the beach at the end of the neighborhood and back. Just this short distance from the beach about 150 yards, there is no wind at ground level and only a few hints at tree tops, 50 feet and more above us. Still the distant wind or water can be heard and as we get closer a light breeze carries through woods with less undergrowth. Only one small dead branch has been blown onto the ground that I can see and it’s near our front door. The usually sprinkling of tiny dead twigs under two trees known to do this regular shedding are waiting to be picked up. Sycamore trees are especially bad about this.
I grab the beach trash on the way back and that’s it for today.—-
