Here are some photographs I took on Thanksgiving Day 2008. Nope. No family photos here, but a small sample of what nature gives us to be thankful for.
Thanksgiving Day morning was a cool one and I snapped some photos of the frost.
Later on the skies became clear brilliant blue.
There are a few more photos in this group over on Flickr. Just click on this link if you'd like to check them out.
Hanna may have been in a foul mood when she got here, but as it turns out, she was no bitch. From what I've seen, she mostly blew pine needles and small branches out of the trees inland. Along the beach, she cleaned house. Where there had been seaweed washed up on the beach yesterday, there was only sand this morning.
Some storms wash debris up on the beach, which locals and tourists love, because that is the time to find sharks teeth, shells, and sea glass. But the beachcombers were sadly disappointed this morning. Hanna had not left any gifts on the beach, in fact she had taken with her what little there was yesterday.
Things are getting back to normal now. I saw seagulls flying this morning and I hadn't seen any yesterday. One man was all ready fishing. And it's the time of year for pelicans to start returning. I saw a couple of them this morning as well.
As I walked out into the water, I was surprised at how warm it was; it seemed much cooler yesterday afternoon. Hanna came through last night and cleaned the trees of their clutter; their loose pine needles and branches. She brought with her warmer waters and cleansed the beach of broken shells and seaweed.
This morning as I walked in the water looking out over the ocean I felt cleansed and free of clutter as well. Cleansed of old fears, ready to face the world and take it on. Sometimes it takes a dark night to help us see just how bright the days can be.
On the way home this morning to get ready for Tropical Storm Hanna, I stopped at the beach for a few photos of the incoming storm. Landfall is expected sometime during the early morning hours on Saturday near the North Carolina / South Carolina state line. I took these photos around 11:00 am Friday.
I'm going to do my best to get back to the same spot on the beach Saturday afternoon or Sunday and take some more photos so you can see the before and after. With any luck, things will look much the same. I'm hoping that we can call this storm "Ho Hum Hanna"!
Lots of others on the beach too. Most looking for sharks teeth washed up by the storm-churned seas.
This little sandpiper was running around playing games with the waves while he gathered his small morsels of lunch from the surf.
The waves would recede and he would run as fast as his little legs would carry him out to the very edge of the water, poking his beak in the sand hunting lunch; then a wave would come rushing in and he would make a mad dash back up the beach for dry ground.
After a bit, the shoe in the picture washed up. It must have been floating in the ocean for a while since it has barnacles growing on it.
So, we will see what sort of mischief Hanna will get up to and keep an eye on her brother Ike out there swirling around behind her.
Here's a look over the sea oats at Hanna's outer bands heading our way.
