Storm and Aftermath

It was cloudy and rainy here most of Wednesday. Our red shouldered hawk was stoic.

Hurricane Milton came ashore 8:30 at Siesta Key as a category 3 with winds of 120 mph, then crossed the state below Orlando, exiting into the Atlantic early Thursday morning with winds down to 85 mph. Still a hurricane, but the tornadoes on its front edge seem to have particularly deadly.

For us, it meant we got winds from the southeast that pushed rain under our garage door. We mopped and put down towels for a while. I realized we could run them through the washer’s spin cycle to get them ready to sop up more water. Much easier than trying to wring by hand. After doing it for a couple hours, and the water not getting more than about 3’ into the garage, I’d had enough. We made sure everything was up on shelves and called it a night.

I read until about 1:30 AM; Grant played his computer game until 2:30. I prefer hurricanes that come during the day like Irma, so I can watch what is happening. I tried using a flashlight to look out the window but couldn’t see anything. Sleeping was meh: my hip ached; our boathouse motion detection light stayed on, shining into our bedroom; and about midnight, the generator across the canal kicked on. Not a restful night.

All in all, we did fine. A little water blew under the front door which obviously needs better weatherstripping. We have small branches and leaves over a lot of the yard. A couple more screens are loose, and 2 struts came down on the pool enclosure. Not bad at all. 

Grant put the bird feeders back up. There are lots of warblers around, including a male common yellowthroat that got inside our screens. He was cooperative about fluttering along ahead of me as I guided him to the 8’x6’ opening where a panel is missing. Unlike before the storm, when 2 cardinals came inside, with another outside calling. They eventually found the gaping hole they could fly out. 

Butterflies, wasps, and moths also find their way in.

The screens cannot be fixed soon enough, but at least I didn't spend money on them between hurricanes. 

We even had power until 11:15 AM. I assume Duke turned it off then to work on the lines, because it came back on about 5:00. By then, we’d decided to not cook, so Grant went to Publix for a turkey sub, potato chips, and cold beer. We have a couple of beers in the fridge, but didn’t want to open it unless necessary. 

Even Main Street must have gotten power back, because after listening to that dang generator for 24+ hours, it finally turned off. The noise was making me crazy. Big thanks to everyone working to recover from 2 hurricanes.

Friday morning, I got up at o’dark hundred to read until it was light enough to start picking up. Still no internet.

I put all of my cacti and succulents back on the plant rack in William's pen. I am considering letting them go to other homes. Do I need nonnatives in pots that need to be hand watered? We shall see. Gracie helped William eat his food even though she doesn’t like the taste and makes faces as she eats.

Next out were my 3 carnivorous plants. At least they are natives. But they do require rain water. And full sun. Maybe I can make a water garden in the yard.

I weeded the blueberries, trimmed the blackberries, and dug up the sweet potatoes. Two of the eggplants survived, as did 3 of the okra plants. I will fertilize them tomorrow if it doesn’t rain. The ground is saturated. We got 9” during Milton. 

The canal is the highest I’ve ever seen it. 

Grant put his plant tower back together.

It has cooled considerably but by 10:00, the temperature was 77°, so I was about done outside. One last bit of weeding by the yellow rose to be sure creeping Charlie didn’t get into the coreopsis. I found one more mini flamingo. They are so much fun.

I want to make a dessert for our Marriage Enrichment Group, MEG, meeting tomorrow. My plan is a spice cake, using my castle Bundt pan with black drippy icing, googly eyes, and candy pumpkins.