aftermath ramble....

The last several days have been WILD. Whoever knew that a little cat 1 storm could wreak such havoc?
Hurricane Isaac was just too big....too wide...and brought too much wind and too much water. This entire area is flooded with more on the way due to a dam up north getting ready to give way unless they can relieve pressure some how.

Our neighborhood was one of the lucky ones.
We had street flooding but no homes flooded to my knowledge...yet when you go through the neighborhood every 5th or 6th house had some sort of damage to their home, property, or both...including ours and both of our neighbors. We three live on the highest lots in the neighborhood and the winds beat our poor houses up.

The biggest thing was the wind....it just would NOT stop...for HOURS. Isaac stalled and with the wind came the rain....crazy sideways ripping the roof off your house wind and rain. Now I love a good storm. I love the sound of storms, I love thunder and lightning...I love hard wind and rain...but this was crazy!
We had one squall that lasted from 10:30 to 4:10! How do I know? With the power out, you notice everything...especially in the pitch dark!
Seriously....it didn't let up even for one minute. It would be like blowing out your breath for 6 hours straight. The fact that it was the night and I was sure we would not have a house by morning made me scared for the first time. I got down on my knees and said a prayer and felt better. I still couldn't sleep because of the noise but I was fine and thought "Now I know why some people chase these things." They are so powerful and confusing and interesting....too bad they are so destructive.

Most people lost power Monday or Tuesday. We didn't lose power until Wednesday and were without it a mere 28 hours...most people are not that lucky and are expected to be out of power through Sunday.

Now, in case you don't know....if you live in the south, you DON'T stock your freezer during Hurricane season which is May to November.
That being said, in case you DID, you don't want anything to go to waste so if you had meat in your freezer, it came out. There were a lot of folks grilling once the backlash blew through Thursday. People were running food to the neighbors and checking on each other,sizing up damage, etc. From above, we must have looked like ants coming out of an anthill after a simple rain shower. By late afternoon, people had switched their radio channels from weather to sports in anticipation of the Saints game.

Dean and I cleaned up a bit and put the yard back together (sort of)....we can't repair the roof yet, it is (of course) on the highest eave and even his 24 foot ladder can't reach it. We'll have to get an inspector out here as it was leaking into one of the bathrooms.

I heard the birds this morning, for the first time since Sunday. They don't come around during storms and they left once Isaac was in the area. The bees and hummingbirds were the first to leave. They can't tolerate the high winds.
Yesterday I knew things were looking up because about 2 pm a lone hummingbird came looking for food. I ran out and set up the feeders and by nightfall, they were all back....and so were the bees! If you ever wonder about weather, just check out the animals. Our dogs and cats never once got nervous. Animals are great predictors of what is coming....

The schools are closed due to all the flooding and damage so the kids are off through Labor Day. I hope I have a job next week....the school where I work is in the evacuation zone and that entire area was flooded.

I want to thank everyone for sending prayers and good thoughts our way. Please keep Louisiana in your continued thoughts and prayers...there will be a long recovery for this area.

"Birds sing after a storm; why shouldn't people feel as free to delight in whatever remains to them? "
-Rose Kennedy