The Waves

The Waves, a photo by linfrye on Flickr.

9" x 12"
Arches 140#CP

I FINALLY got to dip my toes in the Atlantic Ocean this past weekend! I"ve been dreaming of doing just that for the last several years, and finally had the chance!

The waves were pretty energetic at Emerald Isle, which is where this painting is from, and it was a real effort to remain upright as the waves pushed my legs one way and the retreating sand pushed another! Surfers were taking advantage of the waves and, since it was the last weekend before school started, the beach was pretty active with children and adults.

Yesterday was a record day for us -- we had an earthquake! I never felt one of these before --! My assistant and I were creating a new spreadsheet for a grant we received, when we felt a rumble under our feet and our mobile unit swayed. It lasted several seconds. Normally when a large truck delivers something to the Arboretum, we get the same 'movement' -- so we ran outdoors to see if we just missed hearing such a vehicle. Nothing. Then we examined our two air conditioners, thinking that perhaps a compressor had blown -- and feeling only the fan working, we reported THAT as the problem. About 30 minutes later, we received a phone call from our grounds crew asking if we were okay -- and reporting to us that there was an earthquake. I thought he was joking - but it wasn't too much longer after that that the report of an earthquake was on the news. (How silly I felt when I had to cancel our maintenance request! LOL) We are all okay -- the epicenter of the quake was north of us by about 200 miles, but the effects of the 5.8 earthquake was felt as far north as Maine and as far south as Georgia.

Adding to the news of the day - we're watching the approach of Hurricane Irene - which, when it passes North Carolina, will be a catagory 3 -- quite severe --- Forecasters can't predict its landfall just yet -- but the beaches we visited last weekend will definitely be affected -- the question is to what degree. Depending on how far the storm passes over North Carolina will determine the rain and wind damage we'll experience both at work and at my home further north. Already the stores are short on batteries and bottled water. And we're all keeping our fingers crossed that the storm continues its eastward track and misses us entirely. We'll know by Friday where it's going.

Here's hoping today is a bit less eventful -- and everyone has a terrific one!