The cleanup begins

Well, it's the "morning after" hurricane Irene passed by our little hamlet. Less than an inch of rain and this is the apparent extent of the damage. I'm gonna have a tough time hooking the chain to these mighty logs in order to drag them away. We are thankful that we were spared from the destruction that Irene could have inflicted.

Signs of an impending hurricane

Here are the signs that a hurricane is heading toward the east coast of the US:

1. 24/7 news coverage describing the impending doom

2. The store shelves depleted of staple items

3. Many new listings for generators on Craigs List (one is listed as new from Home Depot with price $1200 MORE than HD price).

4. Obie follows me everywhere. Oh wait, he does that anyway.

That said, I've done my part:

• The huge chunk of concrete that landed in the middle of Christopher's Downstream during the last flood has now been sledged into pieces and removed. This will hopefully prevent a new channel from being carved.
• Filled the tractor with fuel and moved it out toward the road. There is no location on our ten acres that couldn't be touched by a fallen tree. So, it put it under the youngest trees.
• Acquired additional diesel for the tractor.
• Filled the tub with water for flushing purposes
• Filled containers for drinking water
• Acquired ample supplies of those staples.
• Played Neil Young's "Like a Hurricane".

We're ready.

The shakes

I was sitting at my desk, minding my own business and I hear a distant rumble. A second later the room is shaking - not violent, but more like the shake produced by a violent thunderstorm - only longer. It took only a moment to realize what was going on and by that time, it was over. I walked outside to confirm with Sharon - who was on the deck yelling to me. We had just shared our first earthquake together (only in different buildings)

So, where does the world turn after such an event? Facebook. The USGS (where I did an "I felt it" report). And, of course, Pat Collins.

The aftermath? No damage to Gracerock or the surrounding area. Cell phone voice calls were out for over two hours, although text messages mostly worked. And every conversation for the rest of the afternoon was permeated with "where were you?" and "did you feel it?"

So, between many government offices closing early and private enterprise being significantly distracted, I suspect this event cost millions in productivity. And how does the market react to such a loss of productivity? The dow rises almost 3%. Go figure.

It was a dark and stormy night

The kind that Obie simply hates. And when Obie is unhappy, he is sure to spread the "joy". He was as unhappy as when someone puts your cake out in the rain, and all the sweet green icing flows down and then you lose the recipe, and on top of that you can't sing worth a damn. Yeah - that unhappy.

Summer days driftin' away

Every year it seems to roll past just a bit faster. Temps are now in the upper 50s and low 60s in the morning. It's starting to get dark a bit earlier and I have the strange urge to purchase crayons. Summer is on the wane.

This year is a bit different for Chris - for the first time in seventeen years, he is not returning to a classroom in September. And for the first time in seven years, he is not reporting to band camp - although I suspect that he'll stop by for a peek every now and then.

The bad news is that the woodshed remains virtually empty. So many trees, so little time. So little time...