Monday, September 10, 2012

OUR ISAAC

The rains of Isaac

The rains came after we thought Hurricane Isaac was over.  As you probably know Isaac was a huge storm, as was the eye, which passed directly over us, after which the wind came up again.  Then followed the rains, and the rains, and the rains.

The aftermath of Isaac

We were fortunate that downed limbs were the worst of the damage we suffered from the hurricane, but Grandpère had a huge clean-up job facing him. As you see from the little pile of limbs in the rain picture, he had already started to pick up before the rain stopped him. My son came later and was a big help to GP. You may wonder why I didn't help. I have a bad back. I know that's the common excuse lazy people use for not working, but, in my case, the excuse happens to be true. I'd have lasted about 10 minutes and paid for the short effort for a long time thereafter.

Piles of limbs waiting to be picked up

The city has not yet got around to picking up the piles of limbs along the curb.  One day...

Where the crepe myrtles were

Apropos of nothing to do with Isaac, GP cut down two crepe myrtle trees which were planted directly over the sewer line, whose roots growing into the pipe had probably caused our plumbing problem last year. The plumbers told us the trees should go, and, at first, Grandpère would not hear of taking down the trees, but he finally came around, and he and a neighbor cut them down last week.  The trees were not flourishing because their roots were blocked by the pipe, so they were no great loss.  The space along the driveway has a clean look now which I rather like.  The next step is to get a plumber with a camera to go in and examine the inside of the pipe to see if it is compromised, which it probably is, so we may be looking at a large repair bill.

This morning the weather was gorgeous...a delightful 65°F.  The day is still fine, but the temperature is already up to 81°F.  Still it was lovely to feel, if only briefly, a touch of fall in the air.

Tail end of a gorgeous sunset

The photo of the sunset was taken before Isaac. I was walking during the high point of the breathtaking beauty of the sunset, but I had no camera with me. By the time I reached home the sun had nearly set, so the photo above was the best I could do. I should carry my camera on my walk.

8 comments:

  1. Loving your sunset picture Mimi.

    We in the UK are lucky we don't have storms of the magnitude of the US, I don't think we quite realize what it means to people there!

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    1. Thanks, Allie. A hurricane is a fearsome thing, but as hurricanes go, I have been through much worse. Gustav was the most recent, a much more powerful storm. The eye passed directly over us again, but the very worst of the hurricane came after the calm of the eye. It's amazing to look up and see clear skies, but to know you're not in the clear for long.

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  2. I'm just glad you are both safe and sound. And, isn't this weather simply glorious?

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    1. Thanks, Elizabeth. We're grateful for the prayers and concern of so many of my online friends and acquaintances. Today was lovely. The sun is shining; the temp is falling a bit now; and a gentle breeze is blowing.

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  3. Well there was the storm that hit England back in 1987.

    I note also tropical storm Leslie due to strike Newfoundland shortly.

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    1. Oh my, yes, Erp. The storm is likely to reach hurricane strength. Leslie is moving at 40mph, which is very fast for a hurricane. I'm always surprised when the storms strike up North. Prayers for the people of eastern Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.

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  4. Then there's the news story that Isaac unburied and washed ashore BP's old tarballs that they claim they had cleaned up from Deepwater Horizon.

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    1. Ah yes, Paul (A.). Thanks for the link. I meant to post about the tarballs, but no time, no time. It's now possible to test the oil to tell which well it comes from...like DNA. Actually the tarballs are less destructive than the gooey mix of oil and dispersants. A lesson learned?

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