I just wanted to let you know that the Wells Reserve came through the storm in good shape, despite wind gusts (according to Jeremy Miller and the SWMP weather station) of up to 58 MPH Monday evening. We were without power beginning at around 8 pm, but regained it around 11 am today.

We lost about 20 shingles on the Laudholm barn and several on the Sheep Barn, but that is it. A dozen or more trees (most small, several large) had fallen across the trails, with one threatening the public entrance. John Speight and volunteer Frank Heller cleared the tree alongside the entrance road and many of those along the trails; they had the gates open by late morning. The Internet was on and the phones working (with some minor glitches) by noon.

The spring tides and storm surge will certainly reconfigure Laudholm and Crescent Surf beaches. Our boardwalk is in fine shape despite the high water and waves, but our neighbor’s protective boulders in front of his seawall continue to crumble (a new one sits at the base of our stairs to the beach) – a testament to the power of the sea.

When I arrived here early this morning the full moon illuminated this place and was followed by a pretty sunrise, giving the appearance that nothing occurred the evening before. For most of the day the sun has been in and out of the clouds, with quite warm temperatures.

While we are in good shape, all things considered, I await word from our friends at Reserves to our south and west, who were right in Sandy’s pathway.