Irene Precautions: Some People Listened. Flowers Continue to Bloom Regardless!

I rode my trusty Fuji racing bicycle today along the beach roads. I was surprised at how many homes were not boarded up. These houses are all beachfront, or directly across the small road from the water. The homes that were properly boarded up look oddly forlorn with the addition of plain plywood window coverings. I think it will prove to be the smarter thing to do, though. I'm not sure who lives in this beautiful vintage home, but they seem to be a lovely older couple and they always have the most beautiful hibiscus, perennials and beach roses.

Meanwhile, a bit further down the street is this newer home. Once an older home is razed, the new one must meet much more stringent building codes for shoreline properties. As a result, they're all much taller than their surrounding, older neighbors. Most of them are huge—as large a house as is possible on their property. A lovely hibiscus anchors the front gardens here.

This huge home has direct water views, but is a bit further inland along this salt water marsh. Every window was covered with plywood. Some owners only covered their largest, full-plate windows.

In soft focus, the homeowner of this three-story waterfront home can be seen on the porch roof. He and his son were installing wooden shutters over the larger plate glass windows. In contrast is this sharply focused beach rose—part of a lengthy stretch of them climbing along a split rail fence. Long Island Sound is just to the right of this photo.

A nicely updated turn-of-the-century beach cottage with its front windows boarded up. The "wave" petunias on the porch are just stunning in person. I love the stone pillars, a reminder of the home's lengthy past.

I'm in love with this shingled home. It's across the street from the Sound, but has water views. The style of the home reminds me so much of the graceful past it most likely has had. Across the street is a mega mansion built in the last 10 years, not my style at all.

A row of smaller, older beach homes, some boarded up, some not. Just a few hundred fee further down the shoreline, homes like this are razed every year and McWater Mansions are built. Nice as they are, and I'm sure they're quite stunning inside, they lack the character of these shingled homes which have seen so many Nor-Easters, hurricanes, Fourths of July, Labor Days and many generations of family fun.

Not quite completely finished yet, he new Madison Beach Hotel. This is next to the older homes in the photo directly above. A lovely, and beloved, turn-of-the-century hotel, The Wharf, was torn down two years ago to make way for this new, much bigger building. I'm not sure how I feel about it. The hotel is about a year late in opening, and has lost funding at least once. The old Wharf had a fun bar with lots of period fishing/waterfront type items, old signs etc. This one will probably be much more upscale in a modern way, not my taste in other words. 

Not coincidentally, I managed to capture a lovely brand new Volvo S60 sedan, in black. As good as it looks in photos, in person, this new medium-sized Volvo is stunning.

Several kayaks had yet to be taken away. I would have thought they would be the first to go. These will become projectiles if the winds are even half as strong as they are supposed to be.

Tuxis Island, a small island just off my town. This is where the annual Fourth of July fireworks are sent off from. Today was rainy and foggy, but I managed to take a nice bike ride and snap these photos for the blog. I could have used windshield wipers on my glasses though!

My trusty ride today, my 1982 Fuji 12-speed racing bike. I'm down to one working brake caliper, the rear one, and I have to hold the gear selector for any gear except for the highest, lol. I'll have it tuned up in the spring. It's still a great bike. Compared to my also-trusty Schwinn mountain bike I use for my daily chores, this one rides like the proverbial Cadillac. It's smooth and so much easier to work up to speed. I use it for all of my longer rides.

A L S O  S E E N  O N  M Y  R I D E  T O D A Y

A closeup of a beautiful pink Hibiscus.

Late summer phlox looked great in front of those latticed porch screens.

I think I photographed, and posted in this blog last year, this seaside garage, but it's so nicely landscaped and designed I had to shoot it again today. 

A closer view of the Hibiscus in front of the garage perennial garden. Several homes along the beach road have Hibiscus plants this year. more than I've ever seen.

Also in front of the garage's picket fence was this beautiful purple Aster.

Another view of the garage perennial garden. The flowers vary all summer long, but there are several plants blooming the entire season.

The beach rose "fence" mentioned above. I really hope we don't get the 80 mph winds forecast for us. I can't imagine these plants looking like this if we do. Long Island Sound is to the left and behind those hedges. These homes are on the opposite side of the little road in this area. Each house has its own private beach and old-fashioned wooden-planked boardwalk leading to their beach and cabanas.