|
Post by booklady on Aug 18, 2008 20:24:53 GMT -5
Stay safe, Jay, and tie everything down.
|
|
|
Post by slb2 on Aug 18, 2008 23:20:20 GMT -5
Yep, Jay, dwarnold, anyone else down there in GatorCountry. Hang on to the bedposts.
|
|
|
Post by jspnrvr on Aug 19, 2008 6:57:51 GMT -5
Doing okay so far. Tornado warnings currently lifted, but wind and rain sounds like someone throwing a bucketful of BB's up against the roof and windows. As long as I can look out and don't see Jim Cantore or Dan Rather hanging off one of my palm trees we're alright. Actually, Jim Cantore was sighted in Naples, but he didn't have his goggles on.
|
|
|
Post by booklady on Aug 22, 2008 17:32:04 GMT -5
How's things, Jay and DW? Let us hear from you!
|
|
|
Post by jspnrvr on Aug 24, 2008 7:14:24 GMT -5
Sun finally started coming out in little dabs Friday. Lots of neighborhood flooding around here, the usual places that hold water, even in a heavy dew. But this was different. Almost 14 inches of rain total, most of it Monday night and Tuesday Our house is up on a ridge here so we were okay from that stuff, but at one point I stepped out and saw a black snake seven feet up in a tree, so all the critters in the ground were on the move; a land crab stampede can be an ugly thing. School was out for a couple of days so a lot of kids had their tubes and boards out in the ditches and streets which was stupid, since every leftover oil change, dead cat and roadkill armadillo was floating. And with creatures flushed out of their dens it's a wonder no one got snakebit or eaten up by a floating ball of fireants. Sewage in a couple of areas. One casket popped up out of the ground. Our daughter and her family are in the Winter Springs/Sanford area northeast of Orlando, they were up all Thursday night manning a gas powered pump to keep the water from totally flooding them. It's their first house which they've busted butt on the last couple years, totally refreshing it themselves, mostly. New tile, wainscotting, a wall up, a wall down, paint, etc. They just got the kitchen done. Now they can start over, they got water in their bedroom and the family room. At least it's just the new tile, not all the wallboard. Imagine a toilet running over that just won't stop. And an eleven month old baby. So, now they are making their own family legends. About it for now. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers.
|
|
|
Post by gailkate on Aug 24, 2008 14:07:50 GMT -5
My god, what a picture you paint. Some of those images may wake me in the night, and I'm not the one living the disaster. Good luck seems hopelessly lame.
|
|
|
Post by jspnrvr on Aug 24, 2008 14:19:17 GMT -5
Could have been worse; at least it wasn't Intergalactic Zombie Nazi Termites.
|
|
|
Post by booklady on Aug 24, 2008 15:11:59 GMT -5
I heard they come out when the road-kill filled waters begin to recede.
We've had steady rain and wind all day as Fay heads west.
|
|
|
Post by jspnrvr on Aug 24, 2008 15:20:09 GMT -5
As far as the casket is concerned, at least folks had the comfort of knowing that Mom wasn't down there just passively taking on water; she had to have a good tight seal to cork up to the top of the rain saturated ground like that.
And once she rose to the surface, just sort of bobbing along, well, a lot of people do come to Florida for the boating......
|
|
|
Post by joew on Aug 24, 2008 18:29:37 GMT -5
How terrible for your daughter and her family, jay.
|
|
|
Post by jspnrvr on Aug 25, 2008 13:57:26 GMT -5
Thanks, joe. They're good kids. Between scholarships and internships they both graduated from college debt-free; they're hard workers and they play by the rules. All of the SIL's people are in that area and they welcomed our daughter in. It's a pretty supportive situation. Like I said, they're making their family legends now. They'll be ok.
|
|
|
Post by doctork on Aug 25, 2008 23:08:17 GMT -5
Jay, I'm glad your family is wet but OK. And it sounds like being hard-working and resilient, your daughter and family will recover from this.
Your casket story reminds me of being in Plaquemines Parish for Katrina relief. In New Orleans, the cemeteries have above-ground vaults, but in Plaquemines apparently lots of burials were underground. With the flooding, it was as you describe a hundred times over. There was a makeshift "corral" next to the fire station for errant caskets awaiting identification and proper reburial.
I'm glad the sun is out for you now. Wouldn't this be a good time for some rhubarb pie?
|
|
|
Post by Trusty on Aug 25, 2008 23:32:27 GMT -5
I should have done this before, as it now looks like I'm capitalizing on other's problems........ BUT, we need to know someone that provides a much-needed service during these times, and does it extremely well. Check out BAXTER NATIONAL, located in Orlando, with offices in Ft. Lauderdale. --- And, yes, the owner is my son (David). Please keep the number handy.
|
|
|
Post by jspnrvr on Aug 27, 2008 6:08:11 GMT -5
Got the above info forwarded to my daughter and her family, and hope they never have to use it! But we have so many varieties of paradise down here, you never know. Thanks, Trusty!
|
|
|
Post by gailkate on Aug 31, 2008 17:45:09 GMT -5
Calling booklady! I checked the map www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_at2+shtml/205241.shtml?5day#contentsand it looks as if just possibly the Gustav path could affect you. Would a surge up the Mississippi reach Vicksburg? Rains and wind? Cripes, we didn't think about hurricanes when you moved down there. Now that proximity to the water doesn't sound so cool. What are your neighbors telling you?
|
|
|
Post by Trusty on Aug 31, 2008 22:18:55 GMT -5
Bookie's last post was Aug. 26, and I haven't heard from her - so she may have left. She will get some of the storm, but it looks like it will veer off toward Texas. New Orleans' station WWL/870am is providing 24hr. coverage. They were great during Katrina (where I heard the "stuck on stupid" comment live), and, with their directional antenna system turned off during emergencies, could be heard up north. Of course, you can click the "Listen Live" on their website HERE.
|
|
|
Post by gailkate on Sept 1, 2008 8:56:28 GMT -5
Thanks, Trusty. Things are looking less frightening this morning. I did hear from BL last night and she said she was preparing for some wind and rain, possible power outages, but not anything big.
|
|
|
Post by Trusty on Sept 1, 2008 13:48:49 GMT -5
ANDDDD.... if you want to hear the coverage partly in Cajun, try HERE (KANE/1240 - LaFayette Station).
|
|
|
Post by gailkate on Sept 7, 2008 9:24:46 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by liriodendron on Sept 7, 2008 9:35:22 GMT -5
All is well here. We had huge amounts of rain and wind and a tornado warning, but you'd never know to look outside right now - sunny, gorgeous really, with a slight breeze. Didn't even lose our power, thank goodness.
|
|
|
Post by gailkate on Sept 7, 2008 11:21:54 GMT -5
Excellent. Now we have only a few more Easterners to hear from.
|
|
|
Post by jspnrvr on Sept 7, 2008 11:32:04 GMT -5
Fine here, thanks for asking. Actually having the first sunny days in a couple weeks. But all over South and Central Florida we're still draining, the ground is saturated, so it wouldn't take much rain to flood again or much wind to start pushing things over. For right now, pray for the Gulf Coast and the Caribbean. 'Tis the season.
|
|
unclewiggly
Bashful Member
I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life
Posts: 34
|
Post by unclewiggly on Sept 7, 2008 14:03:55 GMT -5
Warm, muggy and overcast here in upstate NY. thanks for asking We had some rain yesterday...just enough to squeeze in some canoe time. A nice large stream that runs parallel to the Barge/Erie canal with some chutes. Xtra water makes 'em funner. Too much fun to stop-so we paddled a few extra miles to the Montezuma Wildlife Sanctuary ;D Hope everyone is safe> No news is good news
|
|
|
Post by joew on Sept 7, 2008 19:34:09 GMT -5
No problem here.
We thought we might have to call of the boat races on Saturday, but by that morning it was obvious that nothing significant was going to hit until evening. So we went out and ran some races, but planning to end the racing a bit earlier than usual so people could secure their boats for the storm in plenty of time. Conditions were good, except that a little while before we had planned to stop, the fog rolled in, so we stopped even earlier than we had expected. But everybody got back to the harbor with no problems.
When the storm actually got here there were periods of fairly heavy rain in the evening and overnight. And when I woke up this morning, a good sized branch had fallen into my yard from the old maple in the sidewalk by the corner of my driveway. I dragged it to the sidewalk so the tree department will dispose of it. After all, it's the town's tree.
The rain was over by 7 a.m., and it was a sunny day with a nice westerly breeze.
|
|
|
Post by gailkate on Sept 7, 2008 20:09:55 GMT -5
Good news, I'm delighted to hear from all of you. I think the drought (which we've suffered here, too) has made all the water a relief for some. But, Jay, I feel for all of you in Florida. My husband's uncle lives close to Orlando in a house supposedly built to withstand almost anything, but we worry a lot. They're in their early 80s and not really healthy. It was a great idea to escape the Valparaiso winters, but not all trade-offs are good. Now we have Ike to worry about. What a kick to hear about the canoers and sailors at one with the water.
|
|
unclewiggly
Bashful Member
I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life
Posts: 34
|
Post by unclewiggly on Sept 8, 2008 9:20:58 GMT -5
Well Kate, actually we do the best we can to maintain a degree of separation with the water while paddling. We will leave Thursday for an extended weekend up north. 'Ol Ike better not interfere with this river trip we have been wanting to do. AND There's this little obsession I've been workin' up to decide which-then make a new home for 2 carbon fiber solos Placid Boat Works has The new bathroom can wait.
|
|
|
Post by gailkate on Sept 10, 2008 9:20:15 GMT -5
2 carbon fiber solos
These would be canoes? what's the advantage over two in one?
|
|
|
Post by doctork on Sept 10, 2008 9:53:29 GMT -5
I'm glad everyone is not only OK, but gee, significant leisure activities in the offing!
Pacific Northwest weather has been unusually nice lately - warm sunny days, no rain, mostly for the better part of two weeks not.
I'm bummed that we are getting shorter days now, but at least the daylight hours are nice.
|
|
|
Post by gailkate on Sept 10, 2008 10:55:33 GMT -5
It is a bit daunting, isn't it, when the sun suddenly makes its intentions clear - "I'm going to be over here, while you're going to be way over there, so like it or lump it." Fall can be so lovely but enjoying it feels rushed. Just got back from walking the dogs. We met a neighbor who helpfully informed us that we are now losing 21 minutes of daylight a week. how could that be? A week ago we hit 90.
|
|
|
Post by Trusty on Sept 10, 2008 14:08:18 GMT -5
I found that as a rule of thumb, you add 1 and 1/2 months to the Summer Solstice (Jun 21) to get the hottest days and 1 and 1/2 months to the Winter Solstice (Dec 21) to get the coldest days.
So, you're in the dead of winter on Feb 1; spring is in full bloom May 1; summer dog days are barking August 1; and autumn leaves are in full color November 1.
As always, past performance does not guarantee future results. ;D
|
|