Category Archives: vegetation

Erin Intrigue

No two hurricanes are exactly the same. As destructive as they can be, they’re awe-inspiring. Over the years, I’ve experienced many. I’d rather not document devastation, but instead the natural display they can produce. Hurricanes are best seen from a distance.

Thanks to modern meteorology, the storm’s forecast was spot-on. With high predictions to stay offshore, we decided to hunker down at home. Depending on the level of anxiety, one can either board up or not. In this case, we didn’t. Our strongest wind maybe gusting to 50, occurred on the backside, after Erin passed Hatteras Island. Rainfall was negligible and my barometer bottomed out at 996 millibars.

The evening before the hurricane made its pass, I walked to the beach to take it all in.

I was rewarded with a sliver of color as the sun set behind me.

Vegetated dunes took a beating with sea oats and beach elder holding fast.

Adding to the show, impressive cloud formations twirled above.

Thanks to the positioning of a frontal system, the main core of Hurricane Erin missed us, recurving offshore.

It was a close call and the result could have been much different. A bullet dodged. And this is just the beginning of a new hurricane season!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I D’s Island

Just a few hundred yards offshore of my property, sits a low marshy island in Pamlico Sound. On navigational maps it’s called Great Island, but I’ve always known it as I D’s Island, named for my late neighbor Mr. I D Midgett. I D’s Island has likely been owned by that same family since first settling on Hatteras a few hundred years ago.

Mapping surveys from the 1880’s by Lt. Francis Winslow showed Great Island to be considerably larger in those days, perhaps 2 or 3 times bigger. Today it’s not only smaller, but has been cut into segments. Wave action and rising waters continue to erode this pristine salt marsh. Once upon a time it must have been connected to the main body of Hatteras Island.

Sometimes I D would perform prescribed burns on the island. Burning off vegetation is said to improve plant and wildlife habitat. With a State permit in hand, he had to wait for certain conditions after a dry spell accompanied by a light northeasterly breeze.

On a September evening in 1991, I D Midgett with sons Dale and I D jr. began burning the island.

Fanned by an ocean breeze, flames spread with a setting sun backdrop.

Burning continued well in to the night.

I don’t think I’ll ever see anything quite like that again.

 

White Witch

Last Summer I had a request to illustrate a book cover for local author, Dixie Browning. Using her pen name Bronwyn Williams, she was republishing her old novel, entitled White Witch. I had worked with her and Gee Gee at Buxton Village Books on several other cover projects. Most of those images required some photoshop tools combining multiple images or enhancements to convey a theme. 

 A requirement for this book was to have a live oak near the water with a bird, or birds in flight as a backdrop. I spent two days scouting for a location, that I discovered close to home. The spot was on the shore of Pamlico Sound in Salvo. 

While experimenting different compositions at a particular tree, I was getting ready to pack it up when I noticed a few soaring birds. Firing several quick shots I captured a lone laughing gull framed through an opening. It was a straight shot and a take!

https://www.buxtonvillagebooks.com/book/9798218206673

Soundside

My house sits on acreage bordering the Pamlico Sound. Much of it is salt marsh that blends into slightly elevated land with natural vegetation, including live oak, red cedar and yaupon holly. I built a home here and have lived on the property for 37 years.

The land was part of the Clarence E. Midgett estate and I have Midgett family members living all around me.

I’ve enjoyed this natural setting and history. Early on I admired a nearby grave. Banister Midyett’s headstone stands just a few feet over my north property line. He was born February 26, 1786 and died May 31, 1841 at the of age 55. He reportedly fathered 18 children. The name of Midgett has morphed into different spellings throughout history, but they all seem to be related. They must have been among the first Europeans to settle Hatteras Island as shipwreck survivors.

Another artifact close to my home is a disintegrating wooden skiff, tangled in overgrowth. There would be some captivating stories if it could talk. It likely belonged to I D Midgett, who passed recently at 92 years. He was a quintessential Hatterasman, making a living on the water as a ferry boat captain and commercial fisherman.

I D’s family built this structure to store fishing gear and as a place to bring in the daily catch. The past few years however, it’s seen very little use. As a local livelihood, commercial fishing has become an anachronism.

 

 

 

Fall Color

Autumn transforms the landscape. The obvious occurs in deciduous forests around the country. But in dunes and salt marshes of Hatteras Island change is revealed in other ways.

In Fall, flowering plants such as goldenrod, attract migrant monarchs.

A mostly inconspicuous coastal shrub, sea myrtle bursts out in spectacular fashion.

Salicornia bigelovii is a striking plant of the salt marsh. Also known as dwarf glasswort, it’s succulent, salty and edible. The above photo shows it surrounded by spartina and juncus grasses. Sprouting lime green during warmer months, it grows about a foot tall and gradually turns crimson as the season cools down.

Its brilliance astounds me whenever I see it.

Glasswort develops seeds to propagate and eventually decomposes, making organic matter available to a variety of organisms. The salt marsh is truly alive and a valuable resource!