Wind Gusts & Rain Bands

I know all about those terms. Fay has inched its way up the coast and has delivered a fistful of wind and steady rain - treetops bending, thick branches ripping off and landing on the sodden lawn, sprays of rain shooting diagonally. Dramatic - I stand on my front porch and feel like I'm on the set of "The Perfect Storm," except it's real. I wonder how the birds hang on. This morning, I heard and then saw a sapsucker, sounding an alarm as it grasped the old oak tree. There was the insistent call of the cardinal, which must have been inches away, just out of sight. Then just a minute ago, while the storm was in a five-minute lull, another bird calling.

Fay is here, and it's not going away any time soon according to the forecasters. The "worst is yet to come," says the Mayor. Surprisingly, I still have power and internet access! Though this morning, after hearing the Mayor, I pulled out all my boxes of emergency candles and assembled them on the kitchen counter.

I've gotten lots of needed sleep today, in between my front porch watches. No work tomorrow. I may try for some images in the morning as the night is supposed to be rough. Hang on birds!