Hurricane Irene
A week after our little East Coast earthquake, Hurricane Irene barreled up the coast. Luckily, Schuylkill County, where I live, did not get a direct hit. Just wind and lots of rain. I still prepped for the hurricane by taking down hanging plants, birdhouses, feeders, and windchimes; putting away chairs and lawn furniture; sheltering tons of mums that I had just bought; and tying down various items which might go flying.
Our two butterfly bushes were trashed by the winds. I removed the broken and split branches and then stabilized what remained of the two bushes. Each bush lost a good third of its foliage and branches. Pretty sad considering they each stand at least 10 feet tall. Luckily, these bushes do grow back quickly so I expect them to make a full recovery through next Spring. Except for branches down here and there, we were very fortunate at our home. We lost power for 12 hours but considering some people in Pennsylvania won’t have power until this coming Saturday, it is not a big deal.
I didn’t even get rained on by the storm. Well, not if you don’t count opening my front door. The rain had stopped for at least 2 hours and I figured I would walk outside and survey the damage. Attempting to open the front door, I noticed it was rather stuck. OK, I thought, some water must have seeped in and created a little bit of a seal. So with some effort, I pulled it open and was immediately drenched from head to toe by what seemed like a bucket of water being thrown at me. Water was all over my entrance hall. I hadn’t even stepped outside! Apparently rain was forced in between the storm door and front door by the hurricane winds building up pressure until some unsuspecting putz would open the front door and immediately get drenched. That putz … would be me.
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John and I were worried about trees coming down as the property abuts the woods behind us. Luckily, no trees were lost in our yard. Our neighbors two doors down, Lisa and Jacques, lost a huge old oak tree. It fell lengthwise across the yard but thankfully did not fall onto their house. The only damage, besides the tree, was that it fell across Linda’s long, long flower bed at the back of the yard. I wasn’t too upset at that as it took out a dozen or so concrete lawn ornaments and bric a brac which dot the bed. Gargoyles, fishing boys, benches, glass balls, fairies, and fake animals were all taken out in one good swoop. It was a concrete massacre. I have nothing against Lisa and Jacques but their flower beds look like a tacky garden center threw up on them.
Our two butterfly bushes were trashed by the winds. I removed the broken and split branches and then stabilized what remained of the two bushes. Each bush lost a good third of its foliage and branches. Pretty sad considering they each stand at least 10 feet tall. Luckily, these bushes do grow back quickly so I expect them to make a full recovery through next Spring. Except for branches down here and there, we were very fortunate at our home. We lost power for 12 hours but considering some people in Pennsylvania won’t have power until this coming Saturday, it is not a big deal.
I didn’t even get rained on by the storm. Well, not if you don’t count opening my front door. The rain had stopped for at least 2 hours and I figured I would walk outside and survey the damage. Attempting to open the front door, I noticed it was rather stuck. OK, I thought, some water must have seeped in and created a little bit of a seal. So with some effort, I pulled it open and was immediately drenched from head to toe by what seemed like a bucket of water being thrown at me. Water was all over my entrance hall. I hadn’t even stepped outside! Apparently rain was forced in between the storm door and front door by the hurricane winds building up pressure until some unsuspecting putz would open the front door and immediately get drenched. That putz … would be me.
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