In case you haven’t heard, there’s been a new girl in town
the past few days, and she’s a bully. That’s right, Hurricane Irma. We
pronounce her name “ear-ma” as we have a friend of the same name. She rolled
into Atlanta yesterday, quite early in the morning, and proceeded to darken our
skies, dump some rain, blow hard, and then, as we thought she wasn’t that big
of a deal (hey, man, we didn’t even lose power!) she took out a tree in the
yard. A seemingly healthy poplar, not even a tree we were stressed about.
Have you ever seen a tree fall? I happened to be glancing
out into the backyard when it happened. It happens at the roots first; they
just lifted up out of the ground, as I stared in shock. Slowly, they erupt, as
the trunk leans, and then gravity takes over, and the weight of the thing makes
it fall faster, til the resounding thump jars you back into reality. Our fence
crackled like it was made of toothpicks, and everything shifted a little. I was
shocked and saddened, but the rain was falling too hard to go out and check it
out. Besides, I was a little scared of more trees coming down on me.
Today, I went out and checked it out. So many trees down in
Atlanta right now that this one is not a priority, so we won’t even call a tree
removal service yet…they’ll laugh at us. Tree removal, fill dirt added,
topsoil, fence repair. It will be interesting to see how our shade profile
changes with the loss of yet another poplar. Some shade plants were spared; I
will go into the area and grab them; a pretty yellow-green Hosta, and some
beloved wild ginger plants. I’m already considering the landscaping
possibilities, though this is a bit down the line.
Beyond that, I knitted through the hurricane. I cast on for
Bonnie Marie Burns’ “Iba” sweater (link) and got through the neckband, and then
did a bunch on the raglan line, only to realize that I was screwing up the
edging and central back rib pattern, and so I ripped it back to the neckline.
Gah…metaphor for my life. One step up, two steps back.
Today, we are off again, for more rain, and diminishing
winds. I will write my long-postponed lesson plans, and read 2 chapters for the
Master Gardener class. I could use another day, but I suspect DeKalb will pull
itself together…we really didn’t get hit that badly.
I feel the intense need for a stash fluff, as I have seen a
moth in the office. Inspection of the yarn and fiber reveal no presence of
moths, but I am paranoid. I have some cedar oil, and will oil down the inner
part of the cedar chest where the fiber stays, and re-inspect everything. Most
likely (I keep telling myself) it’s a stray ball of yarn or bit of fluff that
has found its way under the couch or chair that’s growing moths. Still, my
terror rises.
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9/12/17
