We're Fine! (Hurricane Irma) in Here Be Dust

Power came back on today; we’d spent 3-1/2 days without. We were well-prepared, so no problem. In fact, the timing was perfect: we had just about used up our perishable food (with plenty of non-perishable food on hand) when power was restored. Even after 3-1/2 days our fridge was still relatively cool, our freezer even more so.

No structural damage here, though I saw some mild structural damage on my 9/11 walk around the neighborhood: one gutter ripped off, one downspout disengaged. And a power pole leaning precipitously over the road, wires and attached leaves hanging. (And two fools driving underneath them.) My walk lasted for about an hour, during which time I saw about 20 houses with their windows shuttered or boarded up, either completely or partially. Most of the windows were unprotected, though some of those shutters and boards may have been taken down by the time I took my walk.

We were still within Irma’s wind field. I had to plant my feet wide during gusts to keep from being blown over, or at least moved. Almost all of that had died down by 9/12. Mainly, I saw a lot of downed tree limbs, branches, and leaves.

Silver lining for me: Irma’s wind field meant it was cool around here for a couple of days. I preferred to sit on my porch reading (with my higher-magnification reading glasses for actual paper books, since I was conserving power on my tablet and using it sparingly). Having no power meant we were offline (no smartphones), so I communed with books, squirrels, butterflies, and anoles. How cool was it? I had to wear a sweater on 9/11. By 9/13 all the wind was gone and things were starting to warm up, but the day was still pleasant.

I had the foresight to leave hurricane notices on my various email accounts and have now removed them. Work for clients awaits. That and replacing our microwave, which must have gotten spooked by the weather forecasts and bit the dust two days ahead of Irma. (It lived a good, long life of a decade-plus.) I tried it again after our power was restored, just because, but “it’s dead, Jim.”

M’s sister was our point of contact. She spoke with us daily and posted updates on my Facebook page. I’ve been checking in there and elsewhere, letting y’all know that all is well in our neck o’ the woods. Hugs to everyone who is dealing with the aftermath of this storm, other storms, wildfires, etc.