An unapologetic plant geek shares advice and opinions on gardening, the contrived and the natural landscape, as well as occasional topics from the other side of the gate.

August 24, 2009

Posting From The Swamp

We interrupt our scheduled Colorado programming to bring you this weather bulletin. Southeastern Virginia is turning into a swamp! So far we have gotten 12" of rain and the month is not over yet. Normally we get about 48" for the whole year, so we have gotten 25% of our yearly total in less than a month. Please don't think I am complaining, especially when I reflect on what August of 2007 and 2008 were like, with little to no rain, and I am still very thankful.

We had planned on going to Corova, North Carolina this past weekend, but Hurricane Bill changed that for us. Although he was far out to sea, the forecasters predicted waves well above average, beach erosion and wash-overs on the Outer Banks. This is particularly problematic going to and from Corova. To get there you need to travel in a 4WD vehicle, on the beach, 11 miles past the last paved road. Instead we did some things around the house and around town, including heading out to First Landing State Park for some flatland, sea-level hiking with no danger of altitude sickness. Since this blog has been here before, I will post a few pictures from a different perspective.





Wherever you are, I hope that at the very least you get the weather you need, and if lucky, get what you want.

18 comments:

  1. Swamp weather, man. Like the black and white photo of the Spanish Moss. I could really do without hurricane season.

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  2. The primitive is what marshes and swamps evoke for me...although your photos are civilized water meets sky shots. I can't imagine 12 inches of rain in my garden! Texas needs the rain too bad we can't send it to them! gail

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  3. Did you mean Corolla? I am from Elizabeth City NC and I love that part of the state. BTW, I love your blog. Jane

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  4. I love it in the swamps. Lots of them around Charleston to play around. Just have to watch out for snakes and alligators!

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  5. Watch out for snakes and skip watching Raging Planet on Discovery Channel!

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  6. Janet,
    I can do without H. season also. It always adds an element of uncertainty to any late summer plans.

    Gail,
    I keep looking in puddles and ponds to see what is in the sky. I am not sure why this fascinates me.

    Jane,
    Welcome to my blog and I am glad you like it. I did not mean Corolla. Carova is north of Corolla close to the Va. line. There are no roads to get there (this also describes the communities attitude).

    Jeff,
    Fortunately we only have to worry about the snakes, rabid racoons, chiggers, ticks and creepy people.

    Phillip,
    Believe me when I say I had my eyes peeled for them.

    Les

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  7. Les,
    Those pictures are just great! It's good to stick around locally sometimes.--Randy

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  8. Great photos Les. I really like the b&w ones! I've never been to First Landing Park. It looks like something I may want to check into.

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  9. I was complaining about the rain until it extended our planting season and cut down the running around watering everything. We got 11.5 inches of rain in July and 9 inches so far in Aug. Local amounts are heavier.

    The reflective pictures of the swamp are really cool. Well done. I also enjoyed your trip to Colorado. Been a while since I have seen a Marmot. Great wildflowers shots, too.

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  11. Beautiful reflection pictures. I don't know how much rain you got in Sept. '99, but we got 6 months worth in one month. Boy that was fun!

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  12. Randy,
    It is also cheaper to stick around locally!

    Christopher,
    Thanks, they were fun to play with.

    Alan,
    Well you need to go. You could be there in maybe an hour or a little more. All the moss makes you think you are in Florida or Louisiana. There are plenty of trails, lots of birds and a great beach on the bay with usually gentle waves that are good for children.

    Digital,
    Thanks for stopping by. We saw lots of wildlife in Co. but not all of them were as willing to be photographed as the Marmot.

    Sweet Bay,
    That must have been from Hurricane Floyd. I remember watching the parade of horrors on the local news for weeks after the storm had gone.

    Les

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  13. 12 inches of rain!? Those upside down reflections were fun. Good to see you putting the extra moisture to creative use. I enjoyed seeing the mountain pix below. The Marmot is beyond cute!

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  14. Not altitude sickness, rather sea sickness! It did kind of get to me, that greasy water. I have never been a swamp girl, first an Okie and now give me mountains! Glad you are okay with the rain, sometimes more it too much! We wish for some more here though, at the mo! :-)
    Frances

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  15. Sarah,
    It appears we are due for 3 more days of rain this weekend from Tropical Storm Danny. I hope we do not have to put the H word in front of him.

    Frances,
    I am sorry if I made you queasy with my inverted black water. I remember how life sucking the last two summer's droughts were, and I would rather have too much than not enough, though things are getting a little moldy around here.

    Les

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  16. Thanks, I've got vertigo now. Very real looking. Very cool.

    Did you see a hound dog named Blue?

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  17. Anna,
    There was no dog named Bleu, but Penny and Loretta had a good time, especially Loretta who does not swim much, but had a good time wading.

    Les

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