Saturday, August 27, 2011

We are Ready Irene! UPDATE

Yesterday I spent most of the day getting ready for Irene! We are located right on the line of severe flooding and tropical storm conditions. The forecast for our area is 50-60 mph wind and a lot rain....could be 12" or more in less then 24 hours! I didn't realize how much time it would take to get prepared.

This was my harvest today!!
"The Italian" had strung up lights over the deck area and through the garden for our wedding here at the house three years ago.

As you can see, the Paniculata Clematis vine fell down onto the light wires last week in a wind storm. I really don't want to be cleaning up broken light bulbs if the wires come down.

Deck area cleared off

We could not fit the couch chairs and table bases in the garage. So, I took the glass tops inside and piled the furniture up in an area where we don't get much wind. The dining table that is laying there was put in to the garage. The flower pots and slate quoit boards are pushed up against the furniture. They weigh a ton and should help to keep the furniture in place.

A view from the deck toward the house. The big flower pots are so heavy that they can't be moved and the oak rockers were flipped over so they don't do it on their own. They are so heavy that it would take a lot more then 60 mph wind to move those babies!

I put the Bay Leaf tree, citrus trees & some small flower pots under cover by the back door. If it gets too windy I can easily move them in to the house.

Last night before dinner I went to the plots, harvested what I could and tried to stablize the purple pole bean teepee a bit. I will be surprised if it is still up right tomorrow afternoon.

Inside the house the camp stove, propane and camping cook pots were pulled out and made readily available for cooking. The travel lap top is charging and the air card is ready! I moved a lot of frozen food from the chest freezer to the side by sides and made 8 large blocks of ice in plastic containers.

When we get really hard down pours we can get some water in the basement. The ground here is solid clay! It comes in at a certain point and runs to the drain. I spent a little time down in the basement to make sure there is an easy flow to the drain.

We are well stocked in adult beverages and food.....as you know, we do have the wine collector across the street!! So, I guess that we are ready for you Irene!! The humidity outside and inside is just unbelievable right now!


UPDATE:  It's 8AM. We were out of electricity for awhile but the electric is back on for now. There was one large tree branch in the street out front this morning and some water in the basement. The water in the basement is not bad and flowing in to the drain. It looks like we have 2-4 hours of tropical storm winds and rain left. The home garden looks good so far. Who knows about the plots. I will have a hard time getting over there due to flooding. I will post some pics later today.

24 comments:

  1. Sounds like you have prepared as best as you can..
    now it's time just to weather the storm..be safe..

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  2. I don't envy you! Good luck, and stay safe. We'll be waiting for you to give us news of your safety after Irene blows through. Thinking and praying for you!
    ~~Lori

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  3. It looks like you're all ready for her. Now, haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang oooooooooooooooooon!!!!

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  4. Thanks Deb, we will!!

    Ginny, We did what we could. All the rain is my big worry.

    Thanks a bunch Lori, We live 60 miles in land from the Atlantic Ocean....who would think we would have all this to worry about! Don't worry I will post updates. It is already starting to rain lightly.

    Granny, Boy we have had a week here! First an earthquake now Irene! It's funny, the cats have been acting strange (and "The Italian's left inner ear) since last night. They must be able to sense that there is something coming. We'll definitely haaaaang oooon!!! :)

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  5. I've been thinking about you when watching the news of Irene's progress.

    Wishing you the very best of luck, hope things aren't too bad and everything you value stays safe.

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  6. Its good to hear that you are prepared! I hope Irene fizzles out before she reaches you! Take care!

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  7. Thinking of you and your garden! Stay safe!!

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  8. Hang in there. I hope all stay safe and it is more talk then air ; ).

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  9. I will be thinking of you. Hopefully it does not drop as much rain as they are saying.

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  10. Sounds like you are well prepared. I'm not sure what you can do to protect the garden. The plants don't have much defense against sustained winds like they are calling for. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you!

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  11. You seem well prepared--hope all will be well. I can't even imagine that kind of rain. Get the boats ready!

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  12. Stay safe Robin!

    When I saw the picture of all the lightbulbs I thought "You'd better hold onto those!" That'll be the new "smuggled" item as the feds have banned them and are phasing them out over the next few years. We're close to SC and were very happy to hear the that there is legislature pending the APPROVAL of the manufacture and sale of incandescent bulb within the state of SC.

    So no cold sterile lightbulbs in my house. Instead of the Palmetto State, SC will become the Incandescent State.

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  13. Sue, Thanks for thinking about us here.

    Mrs.P, I hope she fizzles out a bit too! The winds and heavy rain are supposed to start tonight.

    Holly, We will and we are ready!

    johanna, I think your weather is supposed to be worse then ours....so YOU stay safe!

    Jane, Hopefully we won't get as much rain as they are predicting. We shall see!

    Villager, There's not much that I can do with the gardens. I was going to pick a bunch of green peppers and tomatoes....but, decided not to. If they get blown over then we will have lots of green veggies. If not, maybe they will get a chance to ripen.

    Sue, I hope the rain is much less. If we get that much rain some of my fall crops will drown for sure!

    Tami, I didn't know that about incandescent bulbs! I certainly hope that they improve the flourescents ones. They have horrible light. If not, we will have to smuggle some from SC!

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  14. Robin - I did much the same thing here yesterday and then this morning went around with Dan for all the stuff I never even considered would be a problem in high winds. He's much more cautious than me. Right now its lots of rain and wind though its to get worse come midnight.

    We have a generator that keeps refrig and freezer, cable and internet and well and boiler going and some lights.

    Stay safe!

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  15. I hope you guys are staying safe! At least this act of mother nature allows you to prepare ahead of time.

    Good luck to you and your garden! Hopefully all your plants make it through unscathed.

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  16. I did the same activity yesterday. Hope you don't get any flooding. The storm is just knocking on our door now. It's very gusty out there.

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  17. Sure hope you only got the wind and rain like we did here in N. VA. No trees down, which is always a blessing here. There sure has been a ton of water with this hurricane. Stay safe, Robin

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  18. Kudos to you for excellent storm preparation! I hope Irene isn't too rough on you.

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  19. Glad it's going well! I need to post also before I head out to pick up the mess!

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  20. Stay safe, hope there's not much damage to your crops.

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  21. You did a great job battening down the hatches and I have to tell you I just love your brick house - I have a real thing for brick houses! LOL!

    I came late to the post and you had already posted the update - so glad that so far it is proving manageable. I hope the plot garden fares well too.

    My daughter in Kutztown had a tree come down on there shop - but otherwise have had little other significant damage.

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  22. That's great that your family and your garden are okay.

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  23. First of all, you've got a great-looking deck! Secondly, I applaud all your effort in preparing for the hurricane's onslaught. I hope that all your preparation paid off, and that there was no damage sustained. This was a really good case of prevention being worth more than cure. I hope your roof, gutter and downspouts were clean as well, so that the rain was directed away from your house.


    -- Kylee Groves --

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