“The wind is rising! . . . We must try to live!”
I’m back finally. The lights went on last night. The house was down to the 50’s by yesterday afternoon. I snuggled under the down comforter and read under the blankets. My friends invited me to dinner, a hot meal!! When I got home, the lights were on, and the house was warm.
The storm on Tuesday night was horrific, the worst storm I’ve ever see. Branches hit the windows, and a thud from somewhere got the dogs’ attention. The wind never stopped. It got as high as 83 mph. It wasn’t just a freight train. It was several freight trains roaring down the tracks. When I woke up Wednesday morning, I asked Alexa the time, and she didn’t answer. I knew the electricity was off, and it wasn’t an Alexa huff. I checked the stove clock and saw the electricity had gone off at 2:10 am.
Gwen had to be at the vet’s by nine, and on the ride, I got to see the damage. Limbs were down all over. I saw the two foot remnant of a telephone pole sticking out of the ground. A hanging yellow light was lying twisted on the road. Up the street a large pine tree sits on the hood of a car. Electric trucks from all over were working on restoring power. I even saw a truck from North Carolina.
The only lights working were near me so I got coffee but not until 3 when the crowds died down.
Part of my fence is down as is my mailbox. Except for a few weird pockets of light the cape had no electricity. I was Diogenes walking around with my Coleman lantern looking for an honest man or an electrician. On my deck, my covered furniture, four chairs, a table and an umbrella, were blown halfway across the deck. The yard and deck are covered in wet leaves and small branches. One of my neighbors lost three trees in her back yard. Two other neighbors lost fence sections.
The good news is about Gwen. Though her numbers are still up, she did not lose any weight so the vet said we are getting close to the right insulin dosage. I had to up the dosage starting last night. I was told it was okay to add some of her old food with the diabetic food. I had already been mixing the two so I was glad to hear that. Gwen does eat some it. I told the vet I give her a few treats so I can sneak in her shot. The vet said it was okay. I’m sure Gwen would be relieved to know that.
Today is cloudy and dark. It is in the 50’s. Rain is predicted for tomorrow. Strangely enough, after all the blustering, everything is still. The leaves at the ends of the branches are barely moving. They stir once and a while in the bit of a breeze. Many of the oak trees have bare branches. Before the storm, the oak tree by the deck had some bright yellow leaves. They are now brown and shriveled.
It is no longer fall and not yet winter. We are in between seasons, in a season of wind and rain.
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October 29, 2021 at 1:51 pm
It’s so odd when some places have power but others don’t and they can be on opposite sides of a road!
I guess that storm will visit us in a few days and I hope it has calmed down until then. I’ll most likely not notice much since the forest and neighbors cottage and garage takes almost all wind 🙂
Really nice weather here today but it will be gone by tomorrow when more rain and clouds will arrive again. I really don’t mind, I can always take long naps 🙂
Have a great day!
Christer.
October 29, 2021 at 7:44 pm
Hi Christer,
The stores around the shopping center never lost their lights. I was glad for the hot coffee and so were all the people standing in line.
That wind was like a hurricane. The damage is amazing. The next storm, tomorrow, will have winds in the 20’s. That will seem like a walk in the park.
I have a Halloween ginger bread house I’ll put together tomorrow. It will have to be way up high to keep it from Nala.
Have a wonderful Saturday!
October 29, 2021 at 2:37 pm
Hi Kat,
Wednesday morning we had a cold front come through and give us a short spurt of rain. Since then the wind has been howling here with gusts up to 56 MPH. Right now the wind is still out of the northwest at 28 MPh with gusts of only 40 MPH. The high today will only reach 65°. Tomorrow should be beautiful with highs in the mid 70s. The winds here took out the power in some of the northern areas of the Metroplex. Weird and extreme weather is the hallmark of global warming. The Colorado River reservoirs, such as Lake Mead, are down 20 to 30 feet from their normal levels due to the draught in the west. Wildfires in the western U.S. have destroyed thousands of acres and destroyed entire towns. Atlantic hurricanes are more numerous and are they are more powerful. Putting our heads in the sand and hoping it will go away is as dumb as a rock.
For some reason Republicans have decided that humans have nothing to do with climate change and vaccine mandates are a violation of their human rights. Critical thinking has become obsolete in this country. People would rather believe the talking heads on Fox News rather than our national medical and health experts. Taking animal deworming medicine rather than getting a shot somehow makes sense. 🙁
This pandemic should have been nipped in the bud earlier this year when the vaccines were first approved and had everyone had taken the shots. Unfortunately, our previous President decided to politicize public health along with everything else. His followers, many among my coworkers, still refuse to be vaccinated and the company is still deciding if they will mandate vaccinations. We all wear masks in public spaces until we get further direction. Last week we had five instructors out sick with Covid-19. Hopefully, they haven’t been hospitalized. I think following Delta Airlines lead, charging unvaccinated workers an additional $200 monthly to cover the cost of their health insurance, is a good idea. When you are grabbing their wallets, then their hearts and minds will follow. 🙂
October 29, 2021 at 8:13 pm
Hi Bob,
Our wind was sustained, not gusty. First came the thunder and lightning. It seemed to last forever then the wind roared and was never ceasing. I’d love your cold front!
We’re going to have wind and rain tomorrow, just what we need. Luckily I did my errands today so I get to stay home tomorrow enjoying the light and, even more, the heat.
We here in the east have been lucky. The The hurricanes missed us during the last hurricane season. I guess this storm, with its hurricane winds, is making up for the summer and fall. I hope there aren’t any more in our future.I saw so much damage. On my street a huge, thick part of a pine tree fell on my neighbor’s roof. Luckily there wasn’t much damage.
We need to rename the Republican Party. It is no longer what it was. It is the party of deniers and liars. It kowtows to Trump and all his crazy, wild rhetoric.
I agree with you about the unvaccinated. They need to pay a price, and I like Delta’s idea. Charge them for all the mandated tests. Trump waited topology to act. His reiterations that it will disappear in the spring just as the flu does caused so many people to contract the virus and die because of their reluctance to get vaccinated spurred by the former president.