TheBanyanTree: on the edge of the storm...

[NancyIee at aol.com]

Guess who's coming to dinner. Ivan.

Charley and Frances have come and gone, leaving, in their wake, everything 
from total devastation to having to pick up a few downed leaves from the lawn.

I put plastic over the windows for Charley and Frances. This time, my 
roommate waits seven hours in line at Home Depot for five sheets of plywood, and back 
at 5 a.m. this morning for another five sheets (the limit).  A friend with a 
saw is coming later this morning to cut and put the plywood over the windows. 
And, cement blocks on the roof to hold that down.

Some folks say to leave the horses out in the pasture. Others say to keep 
them in the barn.  I'll opt for the in-barn theory. If anything is going to 
happen out there, I want them to be containd so they can quickly get help if it's 
needed.  I caught the two cats and they'll be inside for the duration. They 
don't like it, preferring to be on the front porch our out hunting in the 
palmetto, but flying cats aren't my thing.

We don't live in a flood zone, nor will we get the storm surge this far 
inland. I fear for my former house on on the Key. It was certainly a good year to 
sell and get off the beach (especially since the first two hurricanes already 
took fifteen feet of beach away) but I still fear for that place.

The sun is coming up. My roommate has already been in line at Home Depot 
three hours. I guess I better go feed the horses and goats, and make things ready. 
 I dug a trench to take the rain water away from the house, and it worked a 
charm in the last two storms. I'll just make sure it's ready for Ivan, too.

It's tearing up Jamaica today, Cuba later, then on to Florida. Where she 
stops, nobody knows.

NancyLee