Hurricane Irene is bearing down on us. Even though it's a few days away, landfall is slated for Sunday late afternoon/evening, we're apparently right in the bull's eye. I'm pretty sure the yard will be a complete mess afterwards. We have a lot of ancient trees around here that might fall, and I'll probably be without electricity for a few days. I thought I'd capture the yard in all of its late August glory before Irene visits. Above, I think the golden yellow of a sunflower contrasting with the bright blue skies of late summer—one of the prettiest color combinations available to a gardener.
Note: The link furnished above is to a blog by Connecticut meteorologist Ryan Hanrahan from WVIT 4, Hartford, CT. I find his writing to be very clear and concise, and I get more out of reading the forecasts than I do watching the usual 3-minute TV segment. I'll be keeping track of the storm through Ryan's blog.
The first wild Thistle is blooming alongside the veggie garden. The birds and butterflies love these purple blooms.
A bright pink Brandywine heirloom tomato, just ripe for the picking! It's on my windowsill as I type this. Each tomato is almost a full pound in weight and five-inches in diameter.
The second Brandywine plant is a bit later to ripen, but has six tomatoes maturing. That's a lot for an heirloom plant in my experience.
A surprise awaited me in the garden this morning—a Heavenly Blue morning glory! I thought I was only going to have bright pink glories this year, but this blue plant has snuck in. I'm thrilled!
The lone blue blossom amid a sea of magenta. The combination will be really beautiful this fall. I hope the plants, and the garden, survive Irene.
I am just as much in love with sunflower buds as I am their blossoms. The shapes of the bud are so alien looking!
I call this post 'little splashes of colour'. Hope you weather the storm OK.
ReplyDeleteAs I recall you posted some 'apres-storm' shots last year. Maybe this time you can do an "deja vu apres storm all over" again post.
Stay safe...
P.S. I'm glad I didn't decide to go the the U.S. Open opening day this year. Last time I attended I had TWO matches rained out - ouch on the pocketbook, they don't have rain-checks.
Do you mean this one, after the '38 hurricane:
ReplyDeletehttp://artandcolour.blogspot.com/2010/05/theres-got-to-be-morning-after.html
I really hope we don't lose power. I've been stocking the freezer with food for the winter and I'll have to use it all up or throw it out if the power goes out. for any length of time. They're estimating a week perhaps with as many trees that might go down.
I hope all the news about the storms pans out to be nothing more than a rain shower. Having seen all the wonderful images of your garden and flowers would be quite sad to see it all gone.
ReplyDeleteIn any case, get your flashlights together, a few blankets and spam ready, lol.
Oh, gosh... I hope it's nothing like '38, though that was a great year for some - like ME - the year I was born. lol
ReplyDeleteDoes the local ice cream shop sell dry ice? Maybe you could use that in an emergency for your frozen foods.
Well if everyone gets super-prepared maybe Irene will change her mind, just like a women.
A freezer is designed to keep things frozen for up to 48 hours, as long as you don't open the door too much. If I were you I'd make as much ice as possible and fill the frig with it. That will eventually give you clean drinking water and will dramatically extend the shelf life of what's in the frige. It likely will keep stuff in the freezer frozen for an additional 2 days.
ReplyDeleteStock up on some charcoal and lighter fluid as natural gas supplies will dwindle with a long term power outage as the gas has to be pumped by use of electricity.
God luck, Casey.
Barry
Thanks, Barry. My freezer is so small I can't even fit much ice in it, but I'm sure everything will be OK. It's supposed to hit us during the late night/early morning hours. I 'd rather it was during the day so I could see the flying debris before it hits a window... The winds howling at 3am will be pretty dramatic, though.
ReplyDeleteHoping for the best, Casey,our best thoughts and wishes are with you!
ReplyDeleteAndy
Malibu
ME TOO. THINKING OF YOU. IT SURE LOOKS LIKE YOUR GOING TO GET THIS STORM. I NEVER TAKE A HURRICANE FOR GRANTED. I WAS IN CHARLIE. IT SCARED ME TO DEATH. YOU ALSO HAVE TO WATCH FOR TORNADOS ALSO. LIKE YOU,I HATE NIGHT STORMS BECAUSE YOU CAN'T SEE ANYTHING. JUST BE SAFE.I HOPE YOU HAVE A WEATHER RADIO. IT HELPS.
ReplyDeleteGRANNY
Just read Ryan H.'s update. You are right Casey, he makes so much sense. He is the only one taking into account the tide element - and the fact the Irene may hit at high tide for you certainly doesn't look good.
ReplyDeleteI wish they would mention when high tide is in NYC and factor that in as well when they give out their tips.
Stay safe - hope you don't loose power. But I am sure you are well prepared.
I hate to jinx it, but it seems as if it might be losing strength and may "only" be a tropical storm by the time it gets to Long Island Sound.
ReplyDeleteYes, I'm reasonably prepared. I'm taking in my porch stuff tomorrow, the car is moved out of the way of big trees, the racing bike is in the basement, and I moved all the garden tools into the basement. I'll have water and beer so I won't go thirsty. I'll just pretend I like warm beer if the power goes out. And it probably will. Our driveway/road is about 1/4 mile long with old trees on each side, basically rooted in a swamp. There will be downfalls for sure, and the power lines run along the driveway.
I'm going to try to walk over to the beach area tomrrow and take some "before" photos of the big homes boarded up, and the beautiful beach roses which will probably be washed away if there is a storm surge.