The Legend of Irma

Hi Friends,

Our life is returning to normal after the hurricane. What an adventure. What a mess. 

We were lucky not only to have found an excellent bunker to hunker down in, but to have sustained little damage from the storm. 

Our cats were real troopers during the evacuation. They were so sweet & lovey when they were scared & had no idea what was going on. Then, once we were settled in, they returned to their ornery diva selves. 

Packed up art & kitties & made our way inland. Syringe mandala looks like hurricane eye.

The storm, from our safe vantage point, was impressive! The winds were ferocious even as far inland as we were. I went out on the porch at one point and took a video when the winds were about 45-50 mph. Unfortunately I failed to hit ‘play’ and the video was not recorded.

At another point we all went out to the garage & opened the door. The wind immediately sent chunks of plant debris flying into the garage. I was blown nearly off my feet. 

Beautiful nature trail behind our fortress. And DUKE the Dachshund.

I was surrounded by children and dogs (including a Dachshund & a Doberman, 2 of my most feared breeds) but everyone was wonderful (yes, even the dachshund) I had a great time, and was so grateful to our hosts. 

As we drove home to our neighborhood we couldn’t believe some of the wreckage we saw. Concrete poles broken in half. Huge centuries-old oak trees lying on the ground with root systems as big as Humvees exposed. A few houses with trees lying on top of them. But not too much damage to the homes. We heard later that our neighborhood was hit by some tornadoes.

Kayak launch underwater after storm

We haven’t had such close calls with hurricanes since 2004. That year we were hit by Charley, Frances, Ivan & Jeanne, and on two occasions were without power for over a week. This time it only took 3 days for power to come back on.

It’s the kind of adventure that makes you realize how much you love your quiet, organized little life. It makes you feel like a survivor, and possibly a survivalist. It has made me feel united with a population I usually feel isolated from. 

But I know that will go away. i’m an anti-social creature, and that’s where i want to be again soon. Right now it’s about checking in with friends & neighbors & making sure everyone’s okay.

I had to do a before/after of this poor shroom. Even deep in the FL scrub it got destroyed.

Ginsberg twinsies. I feel like a young Allen these days. Someday my beard will appear. Until then I'm loving hurricane hair.

I made sure to document the whole thing in pictures, at first for insurance purposes, then just for personal entertainment. Sorry if you’ve seen all these on FB already—look away if it bores you! It’s not like I’m standing in your personal space demanding that you give a shit.

Our backyard underwater; neighbor's fence destroyed. Huge tree down across the street. Lots of big branches all over the neighborhood. Only one palm tree down in our front yard.

Alright. peace. love. chainsaws & bulldozers.