Irene Report

Sorry for the silence - we lost power/phone/internet in both Baiting Hollow and Stony Brook. All restored this morning. There was very little damage in either place, but of course the garden is rather a mess. With heavy heart I took down most of the feeders because I thought they could be blown away (I lost 3 in the minor thunderstorm at the beginning of august, which in the end did almost more damage than Irene). When I got back here monday evening, hummers were buzzing around the remaining feeders, which I had clumped in 2 valleys where I thought they would be protected.
The main problem here has been the appalling 24 hour-a-day noise from my neighbor's generator. It penetrates the cabin even with the windows shut and thick plywood nailed over them, and I could not sleep. Unfortunately it is continuing despite the restoration of power, due to some sort of technical problem. I cannot do any work in the main garden area, so I retreat to near the base of the bluff, where the noise cannot be heard. I am creating there 2 hummer observation areas, with feeders. My thought is that these areas could be permanently open, to those few intrepid hummerphiles who would be willing to walk down the beach from the Reeves Park parking area. I will post details soon.
I hope to reopen thursday for a few days: please check the blog for confirmation. In the mean time, here is a nice recent photo by Mike Chachkes.
I should perhaps add that Irene hit Eleuthera as a category 3 major hurricance, but there seems to be no really major damage to our houses there, although of course many roof shingles came off, leading to water penetration, and the garden is back to where it was just after Floyd (category 4, borderline 5), 13 years ago. But Sisyphus will slowly push the boulder back up the hill. Here is a link to Calypso garden photos before Irene.