Sitting here on the back porch, drinking a cold one and listening to the banging of trash can lids, it's quite clear that Earl will exempt us from any deadly harm tonight and probably spare us from any significant structural damage as well. The only real affect, and one counter to the bruit image of a hurricane, is that the surf actually deposited about 16 inches of sand onto the upper portion of the beach near the dunes. As you can see in the picture, they'll need to raise that pole if they're planning to hang trash cans from it in the future. (Compare this picture to the earlier one.)

Now, don't get me wrong. I am grateful for this and in no way am I laughing this one off. Earl was a ferocious storm while approaching, and anyone who has been through a big hurricane knows that shit can turn badly in a matter of minutes. To be sure, there are 3+ storms right behind Earl and anyone of them can swing the odds back toward an ominous ending.

But for now, I'm going to 'count to 24' and pass out on the floor. In my boredom, it's likely I'll continue to update this blog for the remainder of my time here. And who knows, I might be right back on this very porch for the next hurricane, enjoying quiet solitude and a case of brew.

Be back in a minute. ...toots!

Sent from my HTC on the Now Network from Sprint!