Hilton Head Island: gale warning; disarray; more views from the bedroom window

 

White caps on Skull Creek.  A rarity though on only 3”-4” ripples. We have a gale warning caused by an approaching front.  The live oaks and Spanish Moss are in a frenzy.  The temperature here is still 66F/19C but is due to drop below freezing Saturday night.  About as cold as it gets here.  I hope.  And considerably better than Evanston which is currently 17F/ feels like 02F and due to get colder.

 GANNET, whose mast you can see in the top photo—it is the only black one—she is stern to in her slip—is in disarray.  Yesterday I removed the starboard pipe berth and replaced the tube with a new one with a thicker wall as I have already done to port.  I biked down to GANNET this morning but did not accomplish much.  I need to scrape old loose paint and sand before painting the areas under the pipe berths I have not been able to reach for years, but to do so I need to move everything there.  This wasn’t the day for it and neither will be any of the next several.  So I puttered around for an hour, checked dock lines and fenders and came back to the condo.

The photos were taken through the huge bedroom window.  We now usually have our sunset drinks sitting in front of it.  In the middle two if you look at the bump on the live oak that I think looks like a bird, you will see a real bird standing on its head.  A Great Blue Heron has landed there two afternoons recently about 4 PM and remained motionless for more than an hour.  I believe he is taking a nap before dinner.

Carol has also seen the raccoon again exploring the water’s edge at about the same time.  

We will spend a quiet Christmas at home, as is our custom.  However this year no Christmas tree.  We couldn’t figure out how to carry one on our bicycles.

We wish you a happy holiday—whichever one you celebrate—and a fine new year.