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...

Depths of Winter

Hello everyone! Here at the beach we've been in the depths of winter, a roller coaster ride of dark and windy and dismal days. Probably not too different where you are [except of course Hunter and Kel, and Lisa if you're reading...].
This weekend Was So Cold...[how cold was it? Lemme tell you!]

Zero! The weatherman says it hasn't been 0* here since 1993. Look at that windchill, 20 below! Mo wore his pj's all day.

Saturday and Sunday were almost too cold for me and Mo to go out. Mo had to wear his hat so his little velvet ears didn't get frostbite.

Indoors we had a lovely Valentine's Day. I got flowers, look! So pretty....

Mo got a new Puppia. Quilted leather with soft furry trim and lining. Puppia Farren harness HERE

And a little fire hydrant to teach him to ''go'' at my friends' yard's designated spot.

I kind of love really cold days, I'm crazy I know. Despite the worry of what to do if the power fails, I enjoy a brisk single digit day. I love layering my bed with flannel sheets and my puffiest down comforter. I put a fleece blanket between the fitted sheet and the mattress cover, then add extra throws on top of the comforter and flannel blanket. Of course if Mo was allowed to sleep in my bed I wouldn't need all this . But he is banned sill.
Okay, so. Cold. But by Monday the temps were in the 50s and  monsoon rain was falling, washing most of the snow away, but left floods, potholes and puddles.
.

The storm cleared briefly at sunset, you can see the break between the two storm fronts.

Mo and I ventured out, looking for signs of spring. A few daffodils, so hopeful.

Mounds of snow here still. Pink in the sunset.

The back lane is so sad. And empty. No charm at all.

Onshore gale winds blew all day Monday and Tuesday, gusts around 50 MPH. The beach has eroded terribly. This giant old dune area survived H Sandy but it looks very damaged as I peer through binoculars. The entire dune seems gone except the last high tip at the beach side.
 Wow.

How the dunes usually look. It is an odd formation at right angles to the upper dunes, like a peninsula. Maybe 30 feet high, old, lots of birds and wildlife live here. The following pix are summer of 2014 and 2015.

The big trucks have been working frantically to my east, trying to shore up the--uh, shore.
The birds are upset, they've been wheeling about all day. I don't know if their roosting space is destroyed or if they are afraid of the giant earth movers.

My own beach is hidden by the big dunes, so I can't tell what happened nearby. I hope to get out there tomorrow to see.

Indoors I am working on my sawtooths.

It's tedious, I only do a few sections each day. The little tips that I snip off have migrated everywhere in my house, prompting endless Dustbustering.

More soon....

love 

lizzy

gone to the beach.....

PS Auditioning borders. The black stripe is the original plan. But which way do the sawtooths go?

yes

Other choices

A Red and White Quilt for Valentine's Day

Hello dear friends! Happy Valentine's Day! I thought today I'd share one of my favorite red and white quilts for a little Valentine treat.

I was gifted with this gorgeous book for Christmas. I have it on my dining table and I am slowly poring over every page.

It inspired me get out my red and white quilts for an afternoon's enjoyment [air and refold too]. I think red and white quilts are the largest segment of my collection---the combination never fails to attract my eye and please my collector's spirit.

This is a beautiful redwork quilt I've had for many many years. c 1911. It is much whiter than my photos show.

I'm pretty sure, all these years later, that I bought it for the zebra.

How cute is he! I fell in love with the zebra. He is so animated and charming.

But it has many wonderful special blocks, including a date---

And this I never noticed, or forgot: it has initials. Isn't that a lovely find?

It also has Sunbonnet babies

Nursery rhymes

a whole menagerie of animals.

Including a polka dot fish...

Kitties:

Dogs:

Bunnies and squirrels...

you'll note here that it has been poorly rebound at some point.
 I need to remember to redo this
in vintage turkey red cotton.

Hens, chickies, birds [2 turkeys, a swan, an owl, geese, and more.]

"who'll get the worm!?"

Botanicals:

including  flowers:

...fruits, vegetables, acorns, lily pads with a frog!

It is thin, like a summer quilt. Nice but not fabulous quilting in an unusual circles pattern. 

.After all that embroidery the quilter's fingers maybe gave out. Or her attention. [Most redwork quilts are  only lightly quilted, I've noticed.] 

Some areas seem to have been quilted with red thread, but I think maybe instead the red embroidery thread dye migrated and was captured in the folds of the quilting. 

If I counted correctly there are 81 embroidered blocks in this quilt. 81 different imaginative designs! I picture this on a child's bed, an early 2oth century I SPY quilt. What a joy this  must have been.

This quilt is over 100 years old. Its maker and recipient are lost in time. Don't we wish we knew? Who made this? Why?

For now all I can say is it was made with love and care. Happy Valentine's Day!

love

lizzy

gone to the beach.....