A day for random events

The weather station in Port Townsend, across the bay shows gusts to 27 knots, but the wind is out of the north and they are somewhat sheltered by the lay of the peninsula there. The Smith Island station is showing gusts near storm force, 42 knots, and if we're not getting that here in Hadlock, it's gotta be pretty close. Tree limbs and detritus have been smacking the windows all day, and limbs are coming down in the driveway. Apparently they are coming down elsewhere, as well, because a couple hours ago the power went out, and stayed out until just now.

The wind is causing havoc out on the water. I've had the scanner on most of the morning, and now again that I have power for it, and Channel 16 is busy with warnings and calls for assistance. A vessel off Camano Island had the mast come down. As I listen, they have not been able to cut it free, and it's damaging the hull as they creep along toward shore.

Also, just coming across now, another vessel has activated its EPIRB somewhere nearby. No contact has been made; it may have just gone overboard from a boat at anchor. But maybe not.

The Coast Guard has been busy reporting vessels adrift, and the Port Townsend ferry has sat firmly at the dock in town, checking in with passing vessels for conditions in mid-channel from time to time. They haven't heard any reports yet they have been happy with, because there they still sit.

Out front, a vessel that has anchored out all winter here in the bay, a big forty-something footer called the Fram, is dragging down toward the beach. Another, smaller boat is dragging in right along with her, but it started further out and isn't as close in yet. I tried calling the marina nearby, where I think the owner keeps his dinghy, but there was no answer... I suspect the power outage may have done in their phone system. I looked up the boat in the national vessel registry, which has several Frams, but the most likely candidate didn't show a name for the current owner. Finally, I gave in and called Port Angeles, where I got a very harried duty officer who took down what information I had on the vessel but didn't seem too optimistic that they could locate the owner. If she comes ashore, it'll be a much bigger mess than the little 27 footer that washed up in the last storm.

There may be hope, though. The tide is out, and as she comes in shallower, the effective scope on the anchor rode increases, providing more holding power. She has been catching off and on as she drifts, and it may dig in here close enough that the scope provides an effective grip for the wind and wave strength. If that happened at high water, she might still go aground when the tide receded, but if she catches, and if the wind lets up before high tide, then she may just be okay. A lot of ifs... but it's a pretty nasty blow.

Since the power was out when I was doing all this research and calling, I had to tromp up to the shop and get our generator down to charge my phone and get some Internet service back. Back in the woods, if one can put out of one's mind the possibility of being squashed by a falling tree limb for a moment, it's actually quite a pleasant day. The wind is all overhead, the sun is shining brightly, and it's pretty warm out. I didn't linger to sunbathe, however.

My folks will be back soon and so I spent yesterday making sure their bathroom, little used in the back part of the house while they are away, was spic and span. Today I went back there and found some splotches of what look suspiciously like bird poo, blood, and a scattering of very tiny little feathers on the tile. I can't, however, find the culprit, which leads me to believe that somehow, the cat, who is confined to the house and to a very small netted run outside it, somehow contrived to lure in, catch, and eat a bird in the house. That she managed to accomplish this never-before-attempted feat the very day after I clean the part of the house she chose as a dining area is not, I think, coincidence.

The chickens seem to be coping well with the weather, but then, they are chickens; I'm not certain they understand anything that is going on outside the coop. Branches keep clattering down on the roof but they take no notice. They seemed very displeased I didn't have any of their favorite corn feed for them when I stopped in to collect eggs on the way back from the shop.

This morning, the UPS guy stopped by the place for the first time ever. It wasn't for me, but the package was of interest for other reasons, none of which are worth going into here.

And, I found out the my buddy Loyd passed the Washington State bar. He'll be sworn in by next week.

Got a text from another friend I hadn't heard from for almost a year.

So that's it. So far just a bunch of random stuff happening with no real narrative line. Some days are like that.