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Thursday, September 2, 2010

"We're All Gonna Die!" Herring Gull's Eye On The Storm

"Just call me Earl."
    Beady eyed Herring Gull conducting storm watch.

 I'm sure all of you know that there is a big ole' storm barrelling toward the eastern coast of the United States. The storm's name is Earl. Wouldn't it be just like a guy named Earl to ruin your life? No offense to the perfectly decent guys out there with that moniker. However, there is a reason that The Dixie Chicks wrote a song about killing a guy named Earl. Most Earls turn out to be bad news.    

  I am a weather watcher. It's not an accident that, to my knowledge,  I'm the only person to photograph a tornado in progress in Maine. I was at the ready with the camera and glued to the events out the window when it erupted. The "Thanksgiving Twister", as we like to think of her, also imparted to me a tangible sense of how bad the weather can be and very suddenly. It marked me with a lasting impression of anxious urgency which is heightened immensely when they start squawking on the T.V. about the monster's advance across the ocean. As much as I hate the relentless chatter, I am drawn like a moth to a flame. I can't help but watch the computer tracts marching across the screen and the magnificent cloud photographs taken from space.  

    I have always been interested in the weather and what makes it. One of my favorite books is about identifying cloud formations as part of anticipating weather events. I'm a member of  The Cloud Appreciation Society and proud of it. It fascinates me that the huge, rotating clouds coming across the Atlantic start out in the African desert. Earl will be carrying dust from the sands of the Sahara.
    Of course, living on a rock sticking into the Atlantic ocean prompts me to be more than a passive observer. Not just a weather voyeur, watching from the comfort of my living room as events unfold and approach; I'm emotionally involved!. After all, there is nothing but ocean between my recliner and Morocco. When you look at a world globe with that in mind, it's sobering. I can almost feel the grit of those Saharan sands in my teeth as the storm gets closer. And closer, and closer.  But, I'll wait until the wind whips up and the rain is slashing before I get serious about putting away any patio furniture. Though I'm a nervous wreck, I'm also a procrastinator. I work best under a ridiculous deadline.
     With that in mind, I'm still printing and matting photographs for the Boothbay Regional Arts show on Saturday. Yep, art on the waterfront under a lovely, white tent. It ought to be interesting when Earl gets his teeth into that tent and our photographs ragging it all like a dog with a bone! We're Mainers in our camera club, so we are waiting it out to see what develops - no cancelling too early for us! Wish us luck (we do have a rain date of Sunday the 5th). Now, I must get back to finding the remote control and the weather channel - background music for my photo matting.  
"Duck! Take cover! We're all gonna die!"

14 comments:

  1. Your bird photos are so amazing! I can almost hear the feathers ruffling.
    Good luck with Earl.
    o'stephanie
    September

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  2. Tell all the buoys and gulls to look out. You be lookin' out, too, hear?
    AtHomePilgrim

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  3. Thanks, you guys. I'll let you know what comes of the birds after the storm (might be good) and the bouys and gulls.

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  4. I just heard from my sister, who lives on the Outer Banks of NC, where Earl was supposed to have made landfall last night. She, of course, didn't evacuate--she never does, no matter how big or ominous the approaching storm. And all they got was lots of rain, sustained winds of about 40 mph with gusts of about 100, but no major damage. They didn't even lose power! And they lose power down there when a seagull lands on a wire wrong!

    So maybe he won't be a bad as they first thought for you on your rock in the Atlantic. Good luck with the Art Show! I'll bet your stuff sells faster than anyone's! Because your work is simply stunning! Let us know what (if anything) Earl does and how the show goes. Rated. D
    Yarn Over
    September 03, 2010 11:28

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  5. Robin, you are a riot! I'm sitting on my rock facing on the Atlantic Ocean watching and waiting right along with you. Stay safe, karen

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  6. Hi Robin. I'm just hoping you stay safe from 'Earl'. FAB.

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  7. Thanks for the well wishes all of you. Thankfully, Earl The Pearl turned into cubic zirconia - a big storm bust. The surf in here is pretty spectacular, but not one bit of damage and just the right amount of rain to make the plants happy. We'll all live to whine another day.

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  8. Oh No!!! Its hurricane Earl. Its the end of the world!!!

    Oops, Well not this time.

    Oh No!!! Its hurricane Fiona. Its the end of the world!!!

    Oops, Well not this time.

    Oh No!!! Its hurricane Gaston. Its the end of the world.

    Oops, Well not this time either.

    Maybe some day those weathermen/ news reporters/ predictors of doom will actually get one right with out hyper ventilating to the point of being embarrassingly silly.

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  9. I, for one, prefer the weathermen to be wrong! Altho' not as bad as predicted, Earl's wind hammered the landscape. It shredded the leaves from the bushes and trees, and what's left are all black and brittle. Flowers? All dead. That's enough damage for me! ~karen

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  10. Karen, I'm sorry you had damage from the storm. You must also get a great deal of salt damage to plants, not just the wind. We often do. I can only plant things on the water sides of our property that will take salt.

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  11. Hey Rainman! Great to hear from you at long last! You were missed in Boothbay Harbor yesterday.

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  12. Hey Robin...great posting....you go girl......take care...Martha

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  13. Thanks, Martha! And thank you, Rebel!

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