After Ike... and another?

Happy Monday! I just got through a nice relaxing weekend. A little bit of "grand-puppy" sitting, while my dear son and his wonderful girlfriend went on a mini-cation. Chloe is such a cutie, and though she crawled under my fence a few times... she really wasn't too much trouble. We also had a great time watching gtb's cousin play in a college soccer game. I let Mini-Dew take all the pics during the game, and let me tell you, she did a fantastic job... check it out.
Aside from the puppy chronicles and soccer games, there is some tropical action once again... sorry, folks, the break seems to be over. The potentially future Kyle is organizing, as I type over Puerto Rico.This broad area of low pressure with some significantly clustered thunderstorms stands a high chance of developing into a tropical depression (would be tropical depression 11) over the next day or so. If this one were to develop into a named storm and start moving, it could become yet another threat to the U.S. Unfortunately, there is a long road ahead for those recovering from Hurricane Ike. Locally, we are only having to deal with gas shortages, but a million people between Texas and New York are still without power... the Texas coast has been completely devastated if not, obliterated. We really don't need another U.S landfall... thanks.
It was pointed out to me that I have been rather tough on those folks who stayed behind during Hurricane Ike. I am sure that they realize their mistake and don't need some unharmed observer like me rubbing their noses in it. So, I am finished with that, and I apologize for any hurt I caused, but I do have strong opinions in this matter. My new focus will be prayerful. I know that now, during this very difficult recovery, while survivors are digging through rubble and trying desperately to make some sense of it all, that their faith is being tested. I realize that they are in grave danger of looking at the mess, thinking about their missing neighbors and loved ones, and starting to lose hope, if it hasn't already been lost. My prayer is for God's strength for those people. It is at their weakest moments that God will reveal His amazing strength, and if they can just maintain faith, they will be carried through. Yes, it's a horribly tough road ahead, but I hope they hold onto the encouraging Word... God loves them. It's in crisis situations such as this that we see God's love poured out in the kindness of strangers as neighbors reach out to desperate neighbors, lending a hand, a tool, a shoulder... rebuilding side-by-side... rising from the ashes... the rubble. Yes, with God's love and grace and provision, this too, shall pass. God, be with all of those impacted in any and every way.

Onto other things... my sincerest thanks to Leedra for offering me this appropriately iconed award for my blog. It's a sky shot... big cheese grin. THANKS, LEEDRA! So glad you enjoyed my blog. Pay it forward time... I decided to keep this award focused as a photography award for an emphasis in outstanding photography and a touch of interesting writing in blog-world.

1. Christine
2. Courtney
3. Ken
4. Tammy
5. Michele
6. Rick
7. Beth Ellen

There are so many more out there who deserve this award, and I apologize if I excluded you, but I wanted to stick to 7 in the awarding. It's a nice number. I rather like it. Anyways, I chose these bloggers for their amazing photography, so I hope you enjoy them as well.

Have a lovely day!
~Dewdrop

P.S. According to my wonderful gtb, I simply must mention the start of the secondary severe weather season.... errr, I mean fall. Happy Fall, Y'all!!

Surviving Hurricane Ike Against All Advice... or perhaps not...

It's Sky Watch Friday post time!!(Please visit Tom, Klaus, Sandy and Imac's SKY WATCH BLOG (click here or on the logo) to participate in Sky Watch Fridays. It is so interesting to see skies all over the world!!! I highly recommend it!) Today, I would like to share with you a picture of a little cumulus cloud that is wanting to swell. The photograph was taken of my south Georgia sky in mid-July of last year. I love the blue, white green thing. Gorgeous. As instability develops in the atmosphere, a little cumulus cloud such as that one has the potential for developing into a little thunderstorm. I actually did get some rain that day, and there were some nice cumulus towers produced... but nothing too dramatic. I described the sky that day by saying... "The blue of the sky was so crisp with the white cumulus structure contrasting..." Indeed, it was a beautiful thing.

Now, for continued Ike coverage, Mikey shared this article with me about the obvious impending fear that I have been writing about over the past few days...

some might simply have been swept out to sea

People defied stern warnings that certain death would be the result of staying on the coastal region impacted by Ike. They were told to evacuate. They were warned that staying was against their orders and those who stayed defying those orders would be on their own after facing that "certain death" at Ike's hand. You know... I have heard a story of a man carried 10 miles when he was washed out of his home. Can you imagine being carried 10 miles in storm surge potentially crashing into anything? That man was spared for a reason. I hope he has chosen to listen to God's calling. I heard a story of a family, mother/father/2 sons who wrote their names and social security numbers on their arms in permanent ink in case the worst happened after they realized that sticking it out was probably not the best decision. I have heard tales of people seeking refuge and riding out the storm in a church with a lion rescued from a local zoo. I have heard of a retired couple in life jackets clutching onto each other as their floor gave way and a flagpole saved them from the roof caving in. I have heard about people deciding to stick it out and then, during the approach of the storm, deciding at the last minute to evacuate in flood waters surrounding them. I have read about people who lost everything... and now... now, they say they will never ride out another storm. I have heard way too much of this... (the photo at the right is an AP Photo)

After the storm, she and neighbors waited for rescue, but no one came. ~source

... for a group of people who weren't willing to take government advice and warnings beforehand, but now, are the first to say that the government owes them something. Yes, you have freedom, but if you are going to ignore the advice of experts, be prepared for it. Don't endanger others simply because you are stupid and stubborn. I have seen the barren land of entire communities, spare a house or two, completely washed away without a trace of debris... common sense tells me that those folks that chose poorly to stay behind went on the ride of their lives... until the end of their lives. Logic says that they were carried away in the surge. I really think I need to stop talking about this... it just upsets me. God be with everyone impacted... and please let them take the warnings more seriously next time.

Interesting article was just shared with me by my friend Michael (a non-storm chasing, Mike), which talks about the lonely house in Gilchrist.

Pam and Warren Adams rebuilt their home in February 2006 after Hurricane Rita destroyed it the previous year. [T]he couple hired a contractor to build a home that could withstand a Category 5 hurricane.

The couple evacuated to a friend's house in Lufkin, Texas, hours before Ike made landfall last week.

Pam and Warren have learned that their house is one of the few in the area to survive the storm. They are returning to see the devastating damage today. ~source

Have a great and blessed day!
~Dewdrop

More striking images from Hurricane Ike's impact

Mikey posted this image... not trying to be a complete copycat, but wow! Thanks, Mikey for sharing... sorry for swiping... Mikey found it on Jeff Masters' Blog. Striking impact, isn't it? It has been said that 80% of the structures on the Bolivar peninsula were destroyed by Hurricane Ike's storm surge. Today, Jeff Masters blogged about the impact on Gilchrist... the story there is grim. I posted the pic of Gilchrist yesterday, the one of the entire coast destroyed except for one lonely surviving house.

The destruction of Gilchrist
High-resolution satellite imagery made available by NOAA's National Geodetic Survey (See Figure 1 below) confirm that of the approximately 1000 structures existing in the town before Hurricane Ike, only about five survived the hurricane. Approximately 200 of these buildings were homes, and it is thought that some of the residents attempted to ride out the storm in their homes. According to media reports, about 34 survivors from Gilchrist and the neighboring communities of Crystal Beach and Port Bolivar have been fished out of Galveston Bay in the past few days. Rescuers who have reached Gilchrist have not been able to find any victims in the debris because THERE IS NO DEBRIS. Ike's storm surge knocked 99.5% of the 1,000 buildings in Gilchrist off their foundations and either demolished them or washed them miles inland into the swamplands behind Gilchrist. Until search teams can locate the debris of what was once was Gilchrist, we will not know the fate of those who may have stayed behind to ride out the storm. ~source, Jeff Masters' blog

I altered the image to show where the house in the below post is... Apparently built since the original photo.

There was no sign of Gilchrist residents, dead or alive. The authorities hope that they all chose to evacuate, but they know there is always a group of stubborn individuals who opt to stay. And the chances that they survived are zero. ~ source

[T]his was no ordinary storm.

The Authorities have offered a U.S. Ike related death count of 49, but as you read, Gilchrist is lost... I was disturbed by some of those deaths... a couple of golfers... who golfs in a tropical storm?! A 10 year old!!! struck by a tree in Kentucky while mowing the lawn! DURING A TROPICAL STORM?! What is wrong with these people? Just to reiterate my point, I found this story... click here for an LA Times article about the stubborn nature of the once Bolivar peninsula... now island... residents.

Here is a link to the Greg Nordstrom blog that Mike referenced in the previous post comments.

That's it for today.
God be with them all...
~Dewdrop