Weather or not...

Storm preparedness for Tropical Storm Andrea is under way at our house.

Flooding may occur in low lying areas: Earlier this afternoon, I was feeling complacent about the possibility of 35 knot winds. The forecast is usually more dramatic than the weather that comes. I turned on the Weather Channel and got out the Cat Charmer to entertain the two young cats. For some reason this stimulation sent Nick careening into the water bowls with much crashing and splashing as a result. I mopped up a half gallon of water with a towel, thinking this may not be the end of water tonight.

Loose objects may become dangerous projectiles in high winds: Even with close observation, you don't really know how many birds are coming to your feeders until you take them down. Right now the chickadees, titmice, downy woodpeckers, and cardinals are teaching their fledgelings how to gather food. That includes our feeders. I will remount the feeders in the morning when the storm has passed and they will be clean and full. Wild birds do not depend on feeders alone, so it is a temporary inconvenience.

I also moved the trash cans and hose reels and one three foot tall cone shaped wrought iron trellis. The house has plenty of tarps and lanterns and batteries, water purification and a cook stove and fuel. I hope it will just be a quiet Thursday night with some bands of wind and rain moving through, but one never knows. In 2004 we lost power as three hurricanes moved through. I read my students' literary journals by the light of an REI camp light. We lost a cat too; I think I've told that story in this blog before. If the worst that happens tonight is that I unnecessarily moved things, then I will feel the force of luck once again.

Meanwhile, the mutabilis rose that got crushed yesterday is holding itself up a little higher today. In other news, the sport of Cecile Bruner that I moved a few days ago has put out one new leaf a day for a total of three-- with the encouraging humidity and rain and cloud cover we have had with the storms moving through, transplants are getting a lucky break.