Winter blows in

Okay, okay enough with the cold wind. I am still chilly from not having any heat two weeks ago. After yesterday's warm, sunny day, today felt bone chilling, although I am sure it probably did not even reach freezing. I still have flash backs to those cold nights without power and it felt colder. The waves on Smithtown Bay were four feet high this morning. They were crashing on the shore and waves usually "lap" onto the shore here, not crash! The sunset tonight took on the look of a religious painting right before the second coming. The sun hid behind the clouds and sent out streaks of light into the sky. I think I heard a choir singing, too and someone call my name.

Stairway to Heaven Grand Re-Opening

Like a pit bull that wouldn’t give up, I envisioned, wished, waded, dragged, carried, sawed, nailed, and even broke down and asked for help from my son. But here it is: The new staircase for the beach! The best part about the whole story? It was FREE and I did it without having to date a carpenter. (Not that this idea would have been a bad thing! But they are quite busy since the hurricane) My son Alex helped to hoist it into place and saw the extra footage off at the ends. I installed stakes and rope to hold it in place near the top and I added a last step to it needed. (Did I mention that Home Depot ADORES me?) I want to dedicate that last step to my friend Kathy, who when I told her last week to watch that last step because it didn’t exist, she said, “It’s always something.” So now she doesn’t have to “watch out” for anything. Did I buy any wood? Com’on, you already know the answer to that! I asked the universe and Smithtown Bay to send me one last step landing and I got it this week. Just needed a little trimming. I am so excited that I think I will decorate the whole thing with some Christmas lights.

Tonight I sat and watched the cormorants glide on the glass-like surface of the bay, diving down for as long as one minute! I try holding my breath when they dive to see if I can last as long as they do, but I always give out. Then they pop up 30 yards from where they started out. What the heck are they DOING under there? The sunset was awesome with intense oranges and some weird clouds that looked like “Something Wicked this Way Comes.”