After The Hurricane

Hermine has came and gone, leaving behind lots of water and some destruction in her path. This graphic view was posted on social media via NBC news. 

One of our favorite beaches was hit hard by the hurricane. After the county spent many weeks and 4.5 million dollars doing renovations to the beach, Hermine destroyed their efforts in just minutes. Idyllic? Perhaps, but most likely this photographer used special photography effects to garner such a pristine view.

Before the renovations, the beach had a lot of sharp rocks which made for a tricky journey out to the sandy bottom. Last summer, even on a stormy day, we still trudged through the rocks and had a great time at the beach.

This too was taken last year, you can see the rocky edge where the water meets the sand. I loved the ruggedness of it. Apparently, Hermine did too. Sometimes trying to spend a few million so people will flock to your perfect plan to make billions doesn't always pan out. There are times when man needs to step back and just let nature be in all her natural glory; barnacled clad rocks and all. This beach was one of them. Probably should have left this little gem alone.

A few days later when we felt all was safe on the roads, we traveled across the Sky Bridge to go to the Red Barn Flea Market. The bridge had been shut down during the most tumultuous part of the hurricane. We saw where the heavy rains and high winds shoved the water far beyond it's normal boundaries. 

Sometimes hurricanes, tornadoes, snowstorms and the like come along to remind us that there is something bigger than us. This was a mild hurricane and for that we're all very grateful. Hermine has left us now, but some of the flooding remains.

The heavy rains brought a huge flooded area to the dog park. Banjo found it to be great fun. The other two dogs that she just met for the first time weren't too sure about wallowing in the mud hole.

Banjo tried every which way to convince them that it's great fun.

They weren't too sure about all that giddiness and dirt that Banjo bestowed upon them. Their owner wasn't too sure about all this so called, "fun." either.

Banjo showed them that if  you get down on your side and roll around like a hog, it's the best fun ever.

The other two dogs, Bear and Chloe, steered clear for a while. But, believe it or not they both joined in after seeing all this tossing and turning that a dog can do in a giant mud puddle. At first their owner thought it was hilarious. She even videotaped all of them. 

The fun was soon over when their owner realized that the dogs would now need a bath. We only had one big dog, the other owner had the two big dogs. Yikes! Bath or no bath, a dog needs to have fun.

No matter what any dog owner says, at the end of the day Banjo is a dog, she is not a person, she is a dog. She needs to do dog things. It's not bad behavior for a dog to have great fun. In fact, years and years from now it's my goal to have her epitaph read, "Banjo, she had a fulfilling and exuberant life."

Now that Banjo has had her bath, it's time for us to tear into the master bedroom of our fixer upper. With all the piping and wires in the bathroom walls, Mi Miguel can do all that demolition duty. With all this water everywhere outside, wouldn't you know we had to run to Lowe's because one of the pipes got jarred and sprung a leak. Thanks to Mi Miguel's mad soldering skills, the leak is now fixed.

In the meantime, I've been gathering photos of the ideal master bathroom. We can both tell you that the fixer upper has been way more fun since we've gotten our girl, Banjo.

Because of her need for exercise, we have to take breaks. We know that all the work will still be here when we get back from a walk or the dog park. She has taught us that rain or shine, stop and enjoy life for a little bit each day.

Yes, Hermine has come and gone. The reports say that heavy rainstorms still lurk in her aftermath. I'm not sure how much of the erosion is Hermine's fault and how much of it is from man. But, I can tell you that the cloudy skies are still around and that it's raining.

In fact, even as I sit here this minute writing this blog post, it's pouring down rain. Is it still an aftermath of Hermine? I couldn't tell you. But, I can tell you that the minute the heavy rains subside, Banjo and I will be pulling Mi Miguel from the bathroom renovations so that Banjo can have a blast in the mud puddles. 

Until then, I'll keep searching for the ideal master bathroom. Like maybe this one?