The area south of Osprey Walk down to Needle Rush Walk eroded some more this week. Since 2007 Gary McGraw’s beach walkway has been a good barometer of how things are going. The situation is surprisingly dynamic. One day the beach grows, the next it erodes — sometimes in dramatic leaps. This week, two sections of Gary’s walkway collapsed. That’s about 24 feet of walkway. Not all of that was new erosion as part of the walkway was already sticking on out into the water at high tide. There was probably 10 feet of new erosion.

There’s a palm tree that’s north of Gary’s walkway that’s been fighting for survival all summer. We thought it was a goner several times as the sand around it slipped away. Then to our delight the sand would return. Now, however, the salt has gotten to the palm. All the fronds are brown and the sand around the base has eroded 12 or so feet behind the palm. Some time this winter, I’m expecting it to go.

Many of the pine trees on the front beach are being carved by the salt from the ocean. The tallest and most seaward parts are fringed with brown needles.