Sheltering from Irene

Just two weeks ago today I snapped this photograph during our backstage tour of The Lost Colony on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. These actors told of fires and hurricanes that had devastated the production in the past. They pointed out the rocks that have been placed outside the fence to protect the storage facilities from hurricanes.

Today, Hurricane Irene is battering the Outer Banks. A weather channel reporter had trouble standing as the hurricane winds began to hit the beach this morning.

When we were at the beach, I collected shell fragments to make into earrings. My favorites were the shards that glistened white and purple when the surf receded. They dried dull and colorless, but clear nail polish revived their shine. Today I made a couple of pair of earrings, one to wear and one to save for another day.

I knew I wouldn't find images to match them in my Peterson Field Guide to the Shells of the Atlantic, but I looked anyhow. Rubbed smooth, they offer no useful clues to me, with my unpracticed eye. I'm guessing they once housed clams, but maybe scallops, perhaps another shell-dweller. Fragments from the sea, preserving my memory of summer at the shore.

I picked them out of the surf two weeks ago and brought them to our mountain home. Now they're dangling from my ears as I listen to Irene's arrival here on our Blue Ridge foothill.

I'll be surprised if we don't lose power tonight. I'm blogging early, just in case.