If it seems like all I'm writing about is the weather, that's because life seems to be revolving around it right now. It's the prime topic in our local media, the main conversation with anyone we talk to and the motivating factor behind most of the day's activities today.
The house is clean. The yard is mowed. The laundry is done. The wind chimes are down and all the smaller stuff on the porches is secured. There's even a meal plan in place in case we lose power at dinner time tomorrow night. We did not move all of the patio furniture into the garage or lash the board to the French doors at the front of the house as we're no longer under a hurricane watch. Those things should be fine with tropical storm force winds but we can still do them tomorrow if need be. We're ready for whatever Mother Nature throws our way.
And at the present time, that just looks like some high winds and heavy rains. It's never fair to wish the storm off on someone else but I'm glad the path has shifted away from our corner of the world. I'm hoping Isaac turns out to be the dog who's bark is worse than his bite and some folks in the central parts of the State get some much needed rainfall. Always the optimist.
While predicting the path and strength of hurricanes has improved during the 35 years we've lived on the Gulf Coast, it's far from an exact science. Nature does what Nature is going to do and we're all forced to err on the side of caution. The beach is under a mandatory evacuation order, schools and businesses are closed tomorrow and many homes in our area are sporting hurricane shutters. If Isaac does what the professionals think he's going to do, it's all just a good rehearsal for when a storm does come our way. Most of those decisions had to be made days ago when it really did seem as if one was.
Other than shuffle a few things around on the porches, we didn't really do anything that didn't need to be done. You just can't afford not to take these storms seriously. So now we'll shift our concerns to family and friends in Mississippi and Louisiana and trust that they've done the same.
Wayne has a new favorite stop on his lap around the Internet, especially under the present circumstances. It's a new Navy weather satellite that produced this image of Isaac earlier this evening. Since it was taken at night, the lights in all the metropolitan areas really show up...but then so does the storm. Here's hoping everyone weathers it well.
Stay safe. Take care. Jude.x
Posted by: Jude.x | August 28, 2012 at 04:43 PM