I wiped away the weeds & foam. / I fetched my sea-born treasures home... Ralph Waldo Emerson







Saturday, February 20, 2016

Let's Go Look



Hi! I braved the cold and wind the other day and hiked down to the beach to investigate the erosion and the Big Trucks Project.


As you know it's not the temps, it's the wind. No footprints on the dune path today.


I had the  beach all to myself, not even a seagull. Well, me and the scary monster trucks.



These are the new outer dunes on my beach, rebuilt naturally since 2012, H Sandy. The water swept through these new dunes, as you can see.



The beach is wide but much lower. We must have lost maybe 3 feet or more depth of sand.






As I walked out to the waterline, it seemed so much closer and I was so upset because I thought it was just past low tide.



Later I rechecked my tide chart and instead it was just a half hour before high tide.






So I suppose things are pretty good. The beach can change massively form one season to the next anyway. And it always comes back, sooner or later.



Over to the east, the huge old dune construction was very quickly restored, rebuilt by an army of immense earth movers [snow plows?].


The new area is similar to the original, yet being man made it will lack the strength and integrity of a natural dune that is built over many years, composed of sand, debris, beach grasses and plant roots. Even the tiny grains of sand settle and mesh naturally to form the strong protective dune.


Part of this action is a many millions of dollars FEMA rebuild again from H. Sandy. Money and action move slow, as this is the third spring since the hurricane. Below is a map [Google satellite] of the large dune, the structure  to the left.  It seems much of this except the lower/ front left quarter was either swept away by last week's storms or plowed away by the trucks. Or both?


I hope to get better pictures at some point. The huge trucks are fast and focused, I am afraid to get too near them. In the town beach a person was killed by a sand truck a few years ago. The drivers don't expect people, I suppose.


Not a cloud in the sky, not a bird to be seen. No shells or sea glass, no treasures. The oyster catchers will return soon, on March 17; the plovers come about April 1st. I was glad to see the trucks including the sand rakes working earlier this year. Nest numbers are way down and I think the aggressive springtime sand upkeep is partly to blame.


Here's a video for you all! It's cold, zip your jacket, wear your hat.



love

lizzy

gone to the beach...


8 comments:

  1. My hair is still knotted from the blowing wind of that video (LOL)!
    We have been warm here in IL (around 60)- will take it for now. Hope Springs eternal!
    Love,
    Strawberry

    ReplyDelete
  2. Clear and cold! I love days like that.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The pictures even LOOK cold and kind of desolate, even in the interesting color of the water. Brr! You'd think that maybe they could use the debris from their sand grooming to add to the dune-building... Don't know if it would help, though. Just do us all a favor and stay out of the way of the trucks, we don't want YOU getting run over!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The dune rake debris may be used, I don t know. Mostly the sand has been dredges from the inlet. There was a newspaper story a few years ago, w the sand rake company showing their finds--a LOT of gold chains, dolls, and of course sand toys. And yeah! I don t want to get squished!

      Delete
  4. Gosh, you talking about when the birds will be returning reminds me how quickly time is marching along. Spring will 'spring' in no time.

    Great pics and informative lesson on the erosion and restoration of the beach. I agree, things have a way balancing out.

    Is your beach south facing?

    Kel

    PS Tablet was Xmas gift...I'm happy to have something to use, but I miss having a computer.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Kel! I know I feel like we re on the express train to Spring! And I m not a fan of spring.

      Yes my beach faces due south. Guests will look out over the water and sigh, "On a clear day, you can almost see England!" and we politely don t point out that the faraway, pretend-visible coast is not England or more accurately Spain, but Venezuela, lol.

      Delete
    2. PS Computer vs tablet! My son tells me my desktop is a dinosaur and that I should get a tablet and/ or a laptop, he says a Mac [loathe Mac] and he just doesn t understand how much I love my real keyboard and mouse and XL monitor. Good luck! [does it take pix?]

      Delete
    3. Lol, Venezuela!

      I've always had laptops, even those keyboards are far easier than a tablet. I got a little keyboard that can be used with the tablet, but it's squishy and not the same at all. I keep procrastinating taking the laptop to see if can be repaired. Yes, I can take pics with the tablet, so that's fun, but like you pointed out, I can't just stick it in a pocket and go. Again, happy to have it though. Kel

      Delete

Hi! I'm allowing comments from everyone, even anonymous for awhile, to see what happens. With comments moderation. Hopefully the awful porn spammer has gone elsewhere. Or you can always email me! I love to hear from everyone.