Tuesday, September 12, 2017

Irma the Bully: Hurricane Snow Days



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