Monday's summary

The most evident impact of Hurricane Bill is the browned-out (south-) ocean-facing vegetation, done in mostly by salt spray, and frazzled by wind fatigue. What is does make clear is the extent to which salt spray was carried by the winds - to the top of the ridgeline, pretty much island wide. The side of the plants facing me, which thus are facing north, are green, except at the tops and what you can see of their south-facing sides.

Coworker tales indicate some never lost power, most lost power for a short while, like me, and one poor guy was without for 15 hours. No damage reported (other than the landscaping, and what will show up later on given the thorough salt coating). One staff member claimed she did nothing to prepare because it is only foreigners and tourists who bother with that; also that it wasn't Bermudians out walking and seeing the high waves etal, just those that are here on top of Bermudians. (Catch a little antagonism there perhaps?) Others (both Bermudians and non) spoke of staying awake monitoring the storm, checking on neighbors, seeing the waves come in, etc.

Other than leaf litter and downed palm fronds, there was no clue as to the storm's passing downtown.

All's well.

Today's calmer view of sea

Pretty much same spot as earlier photographed.
Also a neighbor's clean-up of his roof, downspouts into cistern presumably blocked.

The winds and salt spray left slick floors (and, no doubt, everything else), so it was a matter of personal safety to clean surfaces this morning.

Sunday dawns

Hazy but clear and sunny; winds much calmer; sounds like the sea is still on the rough side, but what I see from the balcony is much bluer, less churned, less forthy lettuce green. Lots of folks out walking before it starts heating up too much - highs in upper mid 80s and similar humidity. It is nice to relax in this light-filled suite of rooms. I'll set the household back up again today, wiping down surfaces and unpacking.

trying the first of morning posts again

Hellooo out there!

10 a.m. Power is back on! I’ll ship this out before it goes down again.

At 8 a.m., I am, so far, in good shape, personally and house-wise.

Presently without power but other than an outage around 9 last night there did seem to be power through most of the evening. The most impressive aspects of the storm so far: the roar of the crashing surf – which now looks as if it has broken thru the natural barrier between ocean and Spittal Pond, but I’ll walk down and look at that in a while; and the roar of the wind. I’d be curious what the winds are at present. They seem pretty high, with some durn impressive gusts. Compared to overnight? Not sure – I’d buttoned up the house, and kept earplugs in last night so as not to heighten my stress.

People are out walking, curious bunch that we are. My British neighbor, David, has stopped in to make sure all is well; he has already made a circuit but we will walk about sight-seeing in a bit.

The first siren-screaming vehicle I’ve heard since this started just tore past – a rescue truck. Wanna bet someone is trying their hand in these seas? Seems the height of foolishness to me – even I can see the highly churned water, the color indicating the strong undertow – but I am not water-inclined and tend to think of everything beyond the daily shower as a bit adventuresome.

There – it just came back around, lights flashing but no siren on. Whatever required only about 20 minutes of their time.

Just heard my first chicken since the storm started. You do wonder where they all go – I didn’t notice any wind-tossed poultry sailing by, or hear any thumping into the house.

My preparation was a bit on the wimpy side, which didn’t worry me as much as it would have if the storm was tracking nearer to us. I’d X-taped the glass. I’d put heavy duty plastic up across the bedroom windows, and drew the vertical blinds shut and closed. I had cut plastic to do the same for the patio doors in the living room and kitchen, but had decided that I’d leave it unless things seemed to be getting worse, since that would entomb me, and the breeze is very much desirable. My Midwestern background reminded me to leave a window cracked open on the ‘opposite’ side of the storm; the bathroom window is always open unless a storm is coming from the west with winds that drive rain through the jalousie panes, a rarity.

I’d unplugged all but the appliances, stored the electronics and valuable papers in these nifty enormous zippered ‘freezer bags’ and then in my storage tub. (Used the same Hefty product for art and other papers. Have never seen these before - close to 3’ by 2’.)

Put candles out, with matches in their little plastic bags (humidity is high – what a surprise…) I’d cleared surfaces, stowing things in drawers or wrapping them, like the bookcase, in plastic. For the first past of the evening, while it was raining, I stretched out on the couch with a fan and a light on and read, finishing one book and starting another. My ‘wet’ shoes and slicker were stashed ready to use by the exit door.

When lights went out I pulled the cushions off the couch, put them on the floor in the kitchen in one of the more protected parts of the apartment, away from the front glass; laid a couple beach towels over them (to separate body from fake leather upholstery), then a sheet and a pillow. The rain had pretty much quit by then, and no longer seemed to be coming in the patio doors in the kitchen – the bump-out provides some protection from wind and rain coming from the ocean side, the building itself from the west, very handy when you are trying to get the door unlocked and get into the apartment. So I left that screened door in place and the glass one open about a foot – too narrow and the wind is channeled thru much stronger than it is if you give it more space. That allowed for some cross ventilation, and the kitchen ceiling fan would function whenever power was available.

I wouldn’t call it an especially restful night, but that was mostly because somebody’s plastic trashcan got loose and was banging about as it got blown around crashing into stuff. I have no idea what it was like at 4 a.m., when the storm was projected to be closest to the island. Earplugs are such a blessing…

We had the very occasional bit of lightning and thunder. Nothing like the squall that came over a couple days ago – that was the fiercest thing I’ve ever experienced.

What I see includes palm fronds and small branches down, surf closer than I’ve ever seen it, browned leaves and flowers stripped off the hedges and trees, and the vegetation tossed about, bending low and circling like something in an aerobics class. Sky is mostly grey, periodic bits of sunlight as ‘free’ clouds race past. Stormy, nothing outstanding, at least here.

Hope we are left without tornadoes, etal...

The bottom two are from my deck (the waves are on the other side of Spittal Pond but entirely visible). I kept trying to wipe the lens free of the spray , obviously not particularly successfully. 7.30 pm now, 86 degrees, 82% humidity - you don't get away from it. Was much more comfortable temperature during the storm and of course in the wind.

From friends on the island I'm hearing quite light damage reports - we were lucky.

Back to Sun

For some reason I couldnt get this morning's 'all's well' post to, well, post. Will try again shortly.

Photos from Spittal Pond and some of the same spots earlier pictured, plus probably from down near John Smith's Bay. The barrier at Spittal Pond was breached, and there was a reason why things sounded closer than usual, tho what washed into the pond calmed down a lot from what had been going on out in beyond the coastline. A good-sized area was flattened in all that.

Sky is partly sunny now, the winds have quieted, we get a spit of rain now and again, the waves are still pounding. My walk this morning let me experience some of it rather full-on - after an hour I was salt-crusted, and actually crunched when I sat down. Between the salt spray and the wind, my hair seemed permanently side-swept. Power has stayed on, people are busy sgiht-seeing, by foot or by vehicle, and everyone has a camera.

Will see if this lets me post fotos and then move it all onto the blog.

Still have power!

The day started all rosy and gilt, the surf sounding like a train, and a lot of 'maritime' to the air. It has been warm and muggy - tho surprisingly not as humid as I'd expected - and the rain has mostly been light and periodic. Some of those periods are very blowy and lead gray, but I caught a misty spell when I got home tonight. That allowed me to walk across the street to Spittal Pond and take more photos.

Not that they are good ones, but hey...

Since I don't know how long I will have power - we are in a much gustier spell right now, I'll just post pictures. The one of the under construction building shows a partially built roof arrangement that looks like it might provide some ammunition if the storm gods want to hurl knives around.

Hope on, hope ever, in terms of getting thru this without incident. Worst/closest is to be around 4 this coming morning, with it building from now, and falling away by the afternoon.

Back when power supply allows...

Storm approaching

Right now, this is great stuff! Today has seen blue skies and squalls sharing a sky, warm temperature but a decent breeze - it is picking up. The sound of the surf was noticeably louder when I woke this morning, and tonite it is much more pounding-sea-hitting-rocks than waves-lapping-on-coral-beaches. I keep thinking I'm hearing thunder. Rocks the ground a bit like thunder, too.

So some photos. One of those clear sky/thundercloud moments, and then views of the waves basically across the street and also perhaps 5 minutes walk away, if that. It is getting rather wow-y.

Presently it seems it comes the closest early Saturday morning, and presently it seems it will stay sufficiently distant that the impacts on us will be heavy rain, tropical storm winds with gusts of hurricane strength. I have to spend time tonight doing as much of the storm prep as I can manage. A large (and heavy) role of heavy-duty construction plastic, and 12 case files, are part of what I brought home tonight.

Unfortunately there is a 'situation' from work I also have to devote what will be rather a lot of time to tonight.

Don't know how long to expect we will have power. Right now things feel like any other day - in fact it has been gorgeously beautiful, even with sulky-looking skies.

Th am Uncle Bill forecast - better all the time

Hurricane Bill is a category IV storm and remains a potential threat to Bermuda as it passes to our west on Saturday. South facing shores will see gradually rising swells and surf today with winds increasing through Friday to Tropical Storm Force Friday evening. Bill should pass and begin moving away later Saturday.

HURRICANE BILL is a potential threat to Bermuda. Current Position: 21.6N 60.3W approx. 689 nm SSE of Bermuda Max Sustained Winds: 110kt gusts 135kt Closest point of approach to Bermuda within 72 hrs: Date: 8 am Sat, Aug 22, 2009. Distance: 171 nm to the W

Wednesday Evening storm report

"Hurricane Bill remains a potential threat to Bermuda. The first onset will be increasing swell and surf on South Shore late tomorrow through Friday. Tropical storm force winds are likely to develop late Friday into Saturday, with possible gusts to hurricane force, especially around showers. Light winds, a few showers, locally thundery, prevail meanwhile."

Bermuda Weather Service Tropical Update HURRICANE BILL - Advisory #18 Issued: 6 pm Wed, Aug 19, 2009

NOTE: You may have to click your browser refresh button get the latest image. Forecast track may be liable to large error - please monitor for further updates HURRICANE BILL is a potential threat to Bermuda. Current Position: 19.8N 57.6W approx. 847 nm SSE of Bermuda Recent Movement: WNW or 305 degrees at 17 kt Central Pressure: 947 mb / 27.96 in Max Sustained Winds: 115kt gusts 140kt Closest point of approach to Bermuda within 72 hrs: Date: 5 am Sat, Aug 22, 2009. Distance: 177 nm to the WSW

Wednesday Morning storm update

Our weather service report is characteristically calm, almost bland:"Hurricane Bill, now a Category 4 hurricane, remains a potential threat to Bermuda. The first onset of the hurricane will be increasing swell and surf on South Shore beaches late Thursday through Friday. Tropical storm force winds are expected to develop late Friday into Saturday. Otherwise light winds and a few showers will prevail."

The storm's projected path has shifted away from us (i.e. towards the US), and this is an instance where distance is a good thing. The nearest it is now projected to be within 72 hours is 213 nautical miles, on Saturday morning - last night was 150 nautical miles.

Perhaps buying hurricane supplies is like carrying your umbrella when it looks like rain, or washing your car - your chance of needing them drops.

Red dawn, a semi-clear sky with piles of clouds like sailing ships. It has rained recently - the streets are still wet. I've just given all the porch drainholes a good clearing out, and now hear the splish splash of water draining out of all 12 of them - six on my private porch, six on the walkway porch. It has been pooling and obviously slow to drain, so clogged drainports seemed a likely culprit.

Now, at not quite 7, I will go get ready to scoot out on the 'early' bus.

Stormy Weather...

The song has been my backdrop today.

We started with a highly baroque thunder storm this morning. There was abundant cloud in one part of the sky, but the rest was bright or wispy and when the wisps became soft rain I didn't think much about it. However - about 15 minutes before I needed to catch my bus - a drum-roll of thunder announced something different was on. I saw the clouds and ocean coming in from the south were the same green-brown gray, and watched as a bolt of lightening spanned the distance from mid-cloud to water, about 4 seconds away. The blast of thunder shook the house, and I had leaped to the middle of the apartment before I realized I'd done so. The next 20-30 minutes were something else - lightning from 2 to 7 seconds before the thunder, but all of it incredibly loud.

I suppose it is because there is nothing to muffle the sound - it just explodes across the surface of the ocean. Dinnerware and glassware in the kitchen cabinets rattled. Papers vibrated off the desk and drifted to the floor. The toilet lid fell down. I caught the coffee maker just before it made a dive to the floor, having 'walked' to the edge of the counter with the rather incredible pounding.

With the first thunderbolt I'd scampered around unplugging things, and when the rains started they seemed to come in from all sides.
I'd long ago had a dog that hated thunder and would drop and flatten herself with each boom. That is sort of how I was - way more than a wince, or a duck. My ears sort of blanked out with the roar. It was breathtaking - and none of it was right on top of us. That will really be something!

No way was I stepping outside in that stuff, so I waited the half hour for the next bus. Riding in we could see double rainbows against the clouds, and South Road was flooded about 8 inches deep in one spot, forcing very slow movement, with a lot of cars and bikes making complicated reverses to find another way around.

I've these lovely windows in my new office that are like frames for performance art in the sky. Today's cloudscapes were dramatic and gorgeous, and it will be interesting to see what shapes up with Uncle Bill getting closer.

We do look likely to get some of Hurricane Bill's impact, and people have started making preparations. A direct hit doesn't look likely, but even being 150 nautical miles west of us - the current forecast - will mean wind and rain.

No hurricane warnings as yet; the usual reminder to check your emergency kit went out, and the hardware stores were apparently the place to be today. Emma offered to get what she thought I'd need, bless her - none of it is 'bus-able' - and given Bermuda's prices I have a $150 worth of hurricane supplies, including a $60 ice chest (your average 48 quart Coleman), a $25 length of rope and $27 bucket (when the power goes out - as it will - the pump won't work, so we tie the rope to a good bucket and lower it into our cistern), tape for the windows, batteries for my 'torches', and, bless her, a not-large-but-adequate rigid plastic storage box.

I am working on the nonperishable food and ample water supply - I'll fill the tub and sinks and all containers. As we all have experienced, having damage - trees down, roofs torn off, windows broken - is one thing; being without power another. I've always been fortunate and not had much of any of it to deal with, and the worst house situation occurred while Trevor and I were in France, so my ever-reliable sister took care of it and didn't tell me until I'd gotten home.

So I will spend time between now and Saturday early morning putting things into storage, getting the rugs rolled up and on top of the fridge/cabinet (that may be a feat!), moving stuff away from the windows, putting up plastic. My landlord doesn't feel the need, apparently, to put anything on the windows or otherwise prepare the place. It may be kind of fun, since I have little 'stuff' here, no property or vehicle to be concerned about.

I'll post pictures and updates while I have internet service and power - but come late Friday don't expect to hear for a while unless we get lucky. And don't be worried that you don't hear, either - phone/cell service is also unreliable in the best of times. I'll be back on when things have righted themselves again.

Til next time!

From my window...

Here are a few pictures - the new office, and, more, the view from it. I am on the 4th floor of our building, across from Parliament.

Relocation

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Moved to my new office Friday, the first of several shifts to be made as space is reworked. I'm actually no longer within the physical walls of the department, but have an extra office in the Ministry suite. Eventually, the understanding is, the Permanent Secretary and her clerical assistant and the couple of consultants used by the Ministry will move over to where the Minister's offices are now located, and the Department will reopen the doorway connecting the spaces and wrap the administrative offices along the corridor. As such, there will be periods of disruption probably throughout my tenure with the department.

Nonetheless, what I now have is an office about 3 times larger than my last landing spot, with a wall of windows that look out over Parliament and its surrounding park - no water, but an eyeful of vaguely Tuscan architecture and green park. (I didn't think to take any pictures Friday, but will do so this coming week.)

I can, and will, complain a bit about being separated from the rest of the staff (I'm across the elevator lobby from the department, and a two-key-card walk away), and this being an east-facing office I get full sun in the mornings, so things heat up. But it is quiet, I can keep the noisome overhead lights off and just use task lighting, much my preference, and it is indeed a generously sized space. Could do with at least one more file drawer - I left a four drawer lateral file cabinet, this has a two-drawer.

My director showed up about half an hour after I'd settled in after lunch, which astonished me - he isn't known for any particular chumminess - but we exchanged stories for a while. Later others come over to inspect the digs and make jealous comments - my good fortune is due both to not supervising anyone directly and to being perceived as someone who is sufficiently self-motivated and disciplined as to continue to perform reliably in such an off-on-my-own location. One of the kids presently in the central 'bullpen' will move in to my old space.

A coworker, lovely guy who is in charge of building control, had noticed my note on the stuff still in the old office that I would be taking it to my apartment once transport was organized, but doing so required transport, as it was not bus-able stuff. His second visit over was to offer to meet me Saturday and we'd put the heater, laundry basket, plant pots etc in his car and deliver us all to South Road. We worked it out that he would pick me up from Emma's in St. George's after today's painting class - he lives in St. George - and we'd run this errand. Being in the business we are in, we did manage to stop for a couple of site visits on our way into town.
Turns out a former girlfriend (long past - he is now married) lived in this apartment. Such a small world here.

Anyone see any of the Perseids? We had clear skies, and I'd dragged a blanket for padding out onto the veranda and watched the sky for parts of two nights, tho without much luck in seeing anything. But t is cooler outside, and if one ignores the sensation that bugs are exploring your bedding it is comfortable. A cot would probably have come in handy.

Bit of a wild ride home on Friday's bus - I was reviewing reports when others on the bus erupted in shouts - the driver had taken the road Rt 3 follows at the split, instead of the Rt 1 direction. To get back to where we could pick up the route required about a nine point turn, in Friday evening rush hour traffic, so I'm sure the pressure was on. Came out of that okay (tho I'm glad I wasn't in a rush - probably 10 minutes extra), and settled into routine again, when something flying not very well came hurtling down at us - a plump, upended chicken, frantically trying to haul herself out of the way. Several of us squealed, but no thumps were heard, so I'm hopeful that last barrel roll carried her out of harm's way.

Before Emma's today I pottered around town taking more pictures, mostly in Somers Garden, so I've posted a handful. Enjoy! Also a work in progress, and some bits from the studio.