Life on Tangier Island ... The High Tide Edition

Saturday, October 4th

Well, tide has been up even higher today than yesterday! Today I am on an island in the middle of an island, because it has gotten so deep that my road is pretty much cut off until it recedes some.  It's an island thing, and I've seen it quite a few times in my 25 years of living on Tangier.  It is not dangerously high - and my side of Canton (our neighborhood) is fairly high land, so my plan is to just ride it out and do some crafts.

Here's a look at my bead stash being unpacked, along with my breakfast, the ultra nutritious mini chocolate donut.    Hey, I have an excuse - tide has cut me off from the grocery store - and I am having to forage for food in my cabinets.  LOL

Have a look out the window from my crafting kitchen table.  I am keeping an eye on the tide in case I have to try to get our vehicles to higher land.  They should be OK, our land up by the house is pretty high itself. This looks bad - but it could be worse.

This is worse....pics from Hurricane Sandy when my house was completely surrounded, and water was up my steps.  

View from my front door.  This was scary because the tide came mostly from the west - which is unusual.  I almost never get any tide in my front yard, so to see it coming up my steps was a bit frightening.

View from my back door.  I had waves in my yard.  Not good.

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Day two - it was right in the middle of my post yesterday when our internet went out.  It didn't come back on again til late this morning, so this post will be a "two dayer".  No internet when you are stuck in your house is not a good thing.  Well, I guess it could be if you took advantage of it and did things like laundry and cleaning instead of being on line.  I did not.

Yesterday on facebook a friend who flies, Nancy Lewis, posted pictures of Tangier during high tide taken from the air. I asked her if I could share the picture and she kindly said yes.  This will give you a very good look at what was happening yesterday. Photo by Nancy Lewis:

See that road with two bridges leading off to the right that looks like it has chunks out of it?  That's the road to my house.  Yikes!  It is underwater is some places, but if you had to, you could still drive over it if you were careful (not in a golf cart though). This is Canton Road, and my neighborhood, Canton, would be just off to the right of this picture.  You can also see my school in this picture floating up at the top left. Ha Ha.

Those buildings at the top right that look like they really are floating are watermen's crab shanties built up on poles out in the harbor.  So, they are actually supposed to look that way - don't worry about them.

My friend Carol lives on the main section of the island and was able to go around and take some pictures yesterday while I was cut off.  She got a lot of great shots, but I'll just share a few.  The following photos are hers from yesterday, and were taken from facebook.  Photo credit to Carol Pruitt Moore:

Well, let's look at the bright side.  They won't have to go far to get their catch of the day.

Wading to get on the boat.  This is why I didn't get to go off to Salisbury yesterday and spend my Michael's 25% off Friends & Family coupon.  :(

The bridge situation.  Here is why most of West Ridge and Canton were cut off from Main Ridge yesterday.  
All above photos by Carol Moore.

Now, back to me.  Have a peek at some of the things I worked on while I was in the house yesterday.  I worked on some jewelry, but mostly I did more beaded ornaments.  

I also wanted to share a picture of one of the silver trays I turned into a mini chalkboard. This one was a baby shower gift for a former student of mine. Congrats, Carrie!

I am SO glad to have the internet back on!  But, I've got lots to do today, so bye for now.  I hope you are enjoying the blog, please feel free to leave a comment below.

The Tide Is High ..... Tangier Island 10/3/14

The Tide Is High and I'm on my blog....  (if you're a child of the 80s think Blondie and feel free to hum along)

This morning the tide was up much higher than usual.  This made it a bit difficult getting to school, but also made for beautiful pictures as the wind was dead calm and the water very reflective.  Even though I was running late (1.  it's Friday  2.  N. had an ambulance call in the middle of the night and I had trouble going back to bed)  I could not resist grabbing my camera and taking some pics from the back deck and then again on my way to school.

Here are some of those pictures:

From my back deck...

here is the view from my patio door that caught my attention as I shlepped through the living room still half asleep from being up half the night.  It actually gave me a little burst of energy as I ran to get my camera.

My little dock of the bay is under water this morning.  Its little poles are there on there on the right hand corner.

It's Fall and lots of wildfowl are beginning to fly.  I wish I could have stayed out on my deck longer, as several flocks of geese, some pelicans, and a crane or two flew over.  I could only grab a few quick shots because I needed to finish getting ready for school.  The morning was crisp and the light was gorgeous!

One last shot before heading in

Seen on the way to school

The view as I prepare to cross Canton bridge and leave my neighborhood for the main section of the island.  You can't really see the school  in this picture, but it is across the street from the water tower, behind the church.

A neighbor, also headed to work...

ducks at play on Canton Road

I am coming from the east side, so I can get to the school, those coming from the west side might not have such an easy time of it.

Pretty reflections in the parking lot:

Is this how you got to your school?

It's all part of life on an island.  And that's the view from my dock of the Bay today.

An Indian Summer Day on Tangier Island

INDIAN SUMMER COMES TO TANGIER

The weather today was amazing.  Last weekend temps were in the 90s and the humidity (and bugs!) were terrible.  What a difference a week makes!  Today, temperatures are in the 70s, there is a wonderful breeze, the skies are bright blue, and the bug situation has calmed considerably.  This is a wonderful day to visit Tangier!

I have decided to list one of my cameras for sale, and since it was such a pretty day, I took it out for some demonstration pictures before listing it for sale.  Here are a few that will give you an idea of what I saw out and about on our island today.

Looking over the marsh from Canton bridge toward the main section of the island.  Lots of waterfowl out and about enjoying the sunshine.

Not many tourists aboard today.  Shame, because it's been a beautiful one and about 20 degrees cooler than last week!

Another shot of our school.  Think this one will have to go on the website.

And here's what it looked like on my little dock of the Bay:

Marsh hen and a heron hanging out in the backyard.

Labor Day on Tangier Island

Happy Labor Day Everyone!

Do you know the history of Labor Day?  Here is what Wikipedia has to say:

Labor Day - Celebrating The American Worker

"Labor Day in the United States is a holiday celebrated on the first Monday in September. It is a celebration of the American labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of their country.

The form for the celebration of Labor Day was outlined in the first proposal for the holiday: A street parade to exhibit to the public "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations",^[2] followed by a festival for the workers and their families. This became the pattern for Labor Day celebrations. 

The holiday often marks the end of summer and return to school, although school starting times now vary."

Oh that last sentence.  For most people Labor Day is a day off from work; a day to take a vacation, celebrate with a BBQ, or have a shopping spree.  Ask a teacher though, and you might get a very different answer.  Labor Day is usually a busy day for me, trying to get everything prepared (and every last little possible scenario planned for) for opening day tomorrow. Accomack County Schools still open on the traditional Tuesday after Labor Day schedule.  Tomorrow will be the day 1 of my 25th year!

My usual Labor Day look

I am headed out to school this morning to put in a little time while the building is closed and quiet.  Then I am going to bring my nephews over to see the school.  Two of my three nephews are here this weekend, and we are having a great visit.  I know I just posted some beach pictures the other day but here are a few more from last night on the beach with the boys.

Beach Selfie - the "I'm Windblown And My Arms Are Too Short So My Face Is Too Close" edition

 BEACH BOYS

A Tangier Island Super Supper

A Back To School / Goodbye Summer Feast

Here's what was for dinner at my house.  And yeah, we are eating off mis-matched plates tonight because I've been putting in long hours down to school and short hours doing house work.  But it's the food that counts - and both the hubby and I put a lot of work into this end of summer celebration tonight.  Ha ha, I see some of my spray paints made it into the picture too.  You know there is never not enough time for a paint project.  LOL

So, what are we having?  Let's go clockwise starting from the corn...Char grilled corn on the cob, fried potatoes and onions, fried soft shell crabs, batter fried shrimp, grilled stuffed portobello mushrooms, and grilled peaches for desert.  Yum Yum.  This is a Tangier feast!  Don't you wish you were here?

Walk It Off Sister

After that meal I decided to take a photo walk over to our beach.  Tangier has a long sand beach on the western end. Here are some pics I took when I wasn't moaning about how full I was while I walked:

On The Path To The Beach

A look back at the main section of the island from the beach path.
You can see the water tower, a tiny bit of the school, and the Methodist church on the far left. 
Main ridge is at the center and right.

Crossing the plank bridge, getting closer.  At the top you see a couple of watermen's crab shanties in the marsh.

Almost there now...

Artsy shot

It's going to be a pretty evening!

The Beach!

View to the left from path's end

While I was taking pictures a new beach buddy appeared

Everybody loves the beach...

Sun's going down

Walking to the right toward the jetty

Last light...time to stroll on (or in my case waddle) back home