Monthly Archives: October 2012

Miakoda

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Miakoda is a Native American word for the power of the moon.  The gravity from last night’s full moon added 2 to 3 feet to Hurricane Sandy’s storm surge at high tide.  We are safe and sound!

You may have heard of survivor guilt.  I am suffering a case of power guilt.  For some reason we cannot fathom, we never lost power from the super storm, even though the lights flickered here at times and the neighborhoods surrounding ours lost theirs.

Apparently I fell soundly asleep early last night and Tim went out to take storm surge pictures at high tide without me.  He says I said good-bye but I don’t remember it.  Amazing I could sleep through all the excitement!  The pictures of the surge didn’t come out so well, but he got some amazing shots of the full moon in the storm clouds!

The full moon sailed bright through that Ocean on high,
And the wind murmured past with a wild eerie sound.
~ Emily Brontë
(The Complete Poems of Emily Jane Brontë)

photos by Timothy Rodgers

Surge

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photos by Timothy Rodgers

Looking east, a short walk from us, Birch Plain Creek at low tide (3:16 pm) covering some of Thomas Road.  The creek empties into the sound to the right, about half a mile to the south.  Wonder how high the surge will be at high tide (8:52 pm) tonight?  Tim says he will go and take pictures in the dark – I’m not so sure about his plan!

Looking west from Thomas Road, showing the surge has pushed north up the creek and under the bridge, about where the signs are.  Water is creeping up the banks.  We live up that little hill, and then to the right, still farther up the hill.

The wind is howling, the walls are creaking, and the lights were flickering a short while ago.  We’ve had very little rain.  Reports say much of Groton is without power now and we’ll probably be joining them soon.  And Groton is now experiencing hurricane-force winds.  I think I’m signing out for the time being.

Hoping for the best for everyone in the path of this super storm, and praying that all are well prepared for the worst!

the lure of life…

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“White House at Night” by Vincent van Gogh

Tonight, the moon came out, it was nearly full.
Way down here on earth, I could feel it’s pull.
The weight of gravity or just the lure of life,
Made me want to leave my only home tonight.

I’m just wondering how we know where we belong?
Is it in the arc of the moon, leaving shadows on the lawn?
In the path of fireflies and a single bird at dawn?
Singing in between here and gone?

~ Mary Chapin Carpenter
♫ (Between Here & Gone) ♫

Riding out the Storm

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I’m not going to mince words.  This is the most catastrophic event that we have faced and been able to plan for in any of our lifetimes.
~ Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy
(Emergency Operations Center, October 29, 2012)

Looking at the map above one might wonder why our governor is broadcasting such dire predictions.  It’s because tropical storm force winds extend 485 miles from the hurricane’s eye.  And because of the wind direction, a massive amount of water is being pushed into Long Island Sound which will likely result in an unprecedented storm surge of 4 to 8 feet here on the eastern shore of the sound, where we are, and 6 to 11 feet on the western shore and down into New York Harbor.  There is a full moon today, meaning the high tides are higher than normal, even without the storm surge.

We’re about 20 feet above sea level and have not been given an evacuation order, so we’re going to ride out the storm.  According to the City of Groton Government Facebook page, the roads by Eastern Point Beach are now impassable, from this morning’s high tide, and have been closed.  The worst high tide is supposed to be overnight tonight.

Thank you every one for your prayers and well wishes!  I’m sure we’ll lose power sooner or later, but I will have an update when possible.   City of Groton

Timing

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I am soooooooooooooooooooooo tired……………..

It was only ten days ago that Auntie came home from the hospital with eight stitches or staples in the back of her head, on the mend, and a few days ago when her doctor removed them in his office.  Yesterday Tim & I finished preparing for the big storm and went to bed, content that we were as ready for it as anyone could be.

We only had two hours of sleep when the phone rang.  Auntie had fallen yet again and this time she broke her hip or her pelvis.  The local hospital felt she would get better care at a bigger hospital so off we went in the wee hours of this morning for another long vigil at an emergency department until they found a bed for her so she could be admitted.  When they transferred her from the gurney to the bed, as gently as possible, her cries and screams of pain tore my heart open…

After Auntie got settled and we felt satisfied that she was in good hands we had no choice but to leave her there.  The sun was rising behind the gathering clouds – a monster storm is on its way.  I saw on the news this evening that the hospital was calling in extra staff and testing its generators in preparation.  Governor Malloy has declared a state of emergency.  He said the storm is a hurricane blending with a nor’easter and that we could have an eight foot storm surge.  The barometric pressure is forecast to be so low it will break all the record lows in this state.

I still haven’t been able to sleep.  And now I have an earache.

Must get a cup of green tea and honey and then some sleep now, but I hope to have some time tomorrow to visit blogs and respond to comments.  I have much catching up to do in the blogosphere, at least until we lose power!  Good night all - things will surely look brighter in the morning.

a mysterious tune…

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“The Moon over a Waterfall” by Hiroshige

Everything is determined by forces over which we have no control.  It is determined for the insect as well as for the star.  Human beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust – we all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible piper.
~ Albert Einstein
(The Saturday Evening Post, October 26, 1929)