I finally checked out the storm damage to Town Neck Beach. I know these pictures probably don't look that bad to people who didn't grow up here, but please be assured that this erosion is extreme and devastating.
There used to be dunes and beach grass between that house and the beach. That, incidentally, is the Dune 1 area, where I sometimes join my friends in the summer.
Silly little doggie ran up to me to say Hi.
I couldn't find an old pic that I shot of this area, so the below photo is a web image I got off google. This is still eroded, but this is what the beach looked like a couple of years ago. I didn't not take this.
And this is the photo that I shot of the same place. Dunes gone. Grass gone. Soft sand layer gone.
It was a nice day to walk for a bit though, and listen to the waves.
Stairs also gone.
Just one, huge, wide swath of sand and clay with an unobstructed view all the way across Old Harbor to Spring Hill.
That one clay bank is all that stands between the Bay and the marshes.
Mill Creek.
Dogs must love me. This cutie also came over to say hi. I heard his owner call him by name: Finnegan.
Then I left this part of the beach and drove over to the other side. Loved this cupola and weathervane.
Coolest mailbox ever.
This is Horizons, a seasonal restaurant that's been around for years and years. Back in the 80s, they'd serve drinks without carding anyone, so it was always fun to have a cocktail with lunch when we took a break from swimming.
Lots and lots and LOTS of rocks washed up on this side of the beach.
That's the Canal entrance and Scusset Beach breakwater.
I'm not really sure what the solution is for the beach damage. They keep replacing the sand and it gets washed away in every storm; a ton of it has ended up over at Scusset Beach. THIS is a very good article in the Boston Globe, written last month, with an explanation on how the Canal is contributing to the problem and an illustration of where the sand is going. Sandwich really needs to stop dinking around with studies and meetings and actually do something about it, because it's not going away and only going to get worse.
I tend to think that nature takes care of itself over time. It's not good that some of this erosion damage happens, but it's happened throughout time I guess and the world moves on. Storm damage is better than human damage such as oil spills.
ReplyDeleteEven though you're depicting devastation and damage, your photos still are lovely. This place looks nice.
Arlee Bird
A to Z Challenge Co-host
Tossing It Out
Thanks Lee. It's just that the erosion happened so fast over the past 10 years. It was slowly happening but now it's to the point where each storm brings a new host of issues. But yeah, compared to spills, this is better.
DeleteI agree with Arlee. Your photos still inspire me, and make me wish I could be there to paint. Sometimes painting something that is sent my and ruin turns out to be a great creation, because it inspires thought, and thought inspires creativity, which might come up with a solution. Someday. Great photos and very cute dogs.
ReplyDeleteThank you Debi. We are very fortunate to live in such a beautiful place. I've been lucky to have lived on both coasts....very different from each other but equally gorgeous.
DeleteEnjoyed the photos, JoJo, I wonder if there is a solution to Mother Nature reclaiming her own every year. I do love sand dunes and beach grass, they almost seem nostalgic now.
ReplyDeleteThanks. There's no real solution to this issue, I don't think, unless they fill in the Canal and that won't ever happen.
DeleteI agree with Lee. Erosion is natural and has been going on for years.We are idiots for building so close to the water. There are houses near where we lived in NC which are built right on the dunes. In the first place I don't think that should ever have been allowed, and I have been waiting for 20 years for the sea to take care of the eyesores. Not happened yet unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteWell I'll be honest....I never even knew those houses were there till the past few years as the dunes have eroded. The cottages on Spring Hill Beach (which I didn't feature) were there since the 1940s, some of them. My dad's old cottage was built in 1947 (but torn down in the 70s after he sold it and the new owner built a huge house). Erosion was an issue, but not to this extreme. Now many of the cottages and homes are condemned since the Jan. blizzard.
DeleteI hearby volunteer to adopt Finnegan ;0)
ReplyDeleteHope you're OK by the way; saw the latest snow storm to hit the US on the news here at lunchtime. Winter seems determined to hang on for as long as possible....
It wasn't too stormy....we got about 2" of snow overnight but it's already melting. We keep saying, 'that's winter's last gasp' but then we get more snow. I'm so over this winter! :( Finnegan was ADORABLE. Jumping around wanting to play...jumping all over me which made his owner apologize profusely but he was just so cute that I didn't mind at all.
DeleteThis is sad, JoJo. Sorry to see this, but the doggies are awfully sweet.
ReplyDeleteAnd I didn't take a pic of the other doggie that came over to say Hi as his owner called him off before he got too close. He was cute too. Dogs must love me.
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