Nasty Weather

With sick hearts, we have witnessed the devastation that Hurricane Harvey has caused to cities in Texas, Louisiana, and other places in the Gulf region.  Thousands of people have lost everything, and the recovery for those losses will cost the nation trillions of dollars.  More devastating, however, is the loss of life caused by this horrific storm, and the nation is not finished with this type of weather yet.

Here in Wisconsin we have watched the weather patterns do some unusual things also.  The spring was mild and warm, the summer was unusually wet (we had no "brown out" of lawns this July), and now September dawns wet and cold.  "Early winter" and "harsh winter" are predictions starting to populate conversations.

The wet weather, along with Rick's hand surgery and subsequent recovery time, both have hampered our progress in getting the rest of the porch painted.  If the weather is not too cold or too wet to paint, then our calendar is filled or we just do not want to face the task.  For all of those reasons, I seriously doubt that we will finish painting the porch this year.  And that's OK.  It has a prime coat on the parts that we scraped off, and it can wait until next year if need be.

Of greater concern, however, is the weather that now is heading toward Florida.  Rick said just yesterday, "Aren't you glad that we finished all of the remodeling of Gladys this past year?  Now when we return, we will have just a little gardening to do.  Maybe we can actually relax and enjoy Florida and all it has to offer."  He voiced this opinion partially because when we return to Florida, he still will not be able to lift more than 5 or 10 pounds with his left hand.  He will not be able to physically do a lot of manual labor until the hand continues to heal.  Sightseeing and relaxing on the beach sounded like reasonable, ideal pastimes.

Yet we know that Hurricane Irma is heading straight toward Florida, and this time Dunedin might not be able to dodge the bullet.  Dunedin has not had a direct hit from a hurricane since 1921.  Irma is predicted, in one model, to skim the northern part of Cuba and then to slam into Florida.  More than one model have it traveling straight up the center of Florida like a zipper, thus affecting nearly every county in the state.  If those models hold true, even Dunedin could see both destructive winds and torrential rains with possible flooding.

Governor Scott has declared an emergency for every county in Florida for the storm that is not supposed to hit until three or four days from now, and storm provisions already are sold out in most southern Florida locations. Evacuation of the Florida Keys has started. At last report, Irma was a Category 5 storm with winds of 185 miles per hour.  We know that Gladys has a brand new roof, 130 mph impact windows and doors, and a 130 mph wind resistant garage door.  What worries us is that although the windows in the double front doors are hurricane resistant, we are not so sure the frame and the pegs that secure the doors closed will hold in hurricane-level winds. And if those winds reach 185 miles per hour, nothing is safe in its path.

We also worry that the three plastic sheds in the back and side yards (and their contents) could end up in another county, as could our garbage cans, our park bench on the front porch, and our flower pot of flowers that our neighbor has so lovingly been watering for us.

Of course, the two large trees in the back yard also could cause considerable damage to our fence -- if the fence even surrounds the yard when we return -- and to our house.

 If Irma really rips up Florida, our homeowner's insurance will be useless because Citizen's insurance will not have enough funds to cover the cost of the damage statewide. Forecasters show that Phase 2 -- a tropical storm called Jose -- is lining up right behind Irma, and that it has the potential of turning into a hurricane and following the same path also. And those are just material concerns.

Of far greater concern is our nephew and his wife who live just a few miles south of us, our friends at church, and our neighbors on our street.  They are all dear to us, and they all are in harm's way.  We pray that the storm takes a less destructive path and goes out to sea east of Florida, and that our family, friends, and neighbors all remain safe.

If Gladys takes a direct hit, we may be driving down to Florida much sooner than we thought to see what we can salvage from the storm.  At this point, all we can do is watch, wait, and pray.