Another Round

Thanks to everyone who expressed concern for us and for Travis and Geli after all of the storm damage. We are all hanging in there, and it looks like we’re not out of the woods yet. As I write this a little before midnight on Sunday, another round of storms is headed our way and it looks like that will be the pattern for the next week or so. The weatherman keeps saying that tornadoes are not common this time of year in Alabama, so I guess it’s something Mother Nature did just to welcome us.

I guess one good thing about all of this is the rainbows we are seeing. They remind us that the world is still a very special place.

We spent some time out in the garden yesterday afternoon, and even though it got beat up pretty badly, Terry has been able to salvage some stuff. While we were out there, she picked this squash, zucchini, yellow beans, and chives. The kale is flourishing, too!

There are also a bunch of green tomatoes. Some of them got scarred up by the storm, but they seem to be hanging in there.

While we were only without power for a few hours on Friday night, Travis and Geli still don’t have any, and the latest news is that it might be Wednesday before they get it re-established. Terry and I took one of our Honda generators over to their place so at least they can keep their freezers running and not lose all of their food, and can also keep their cell phone batteries charged and such.

I mentioned in yesterday’s blog that I’m going to have to get a chainsaw to cut up some of the downed trees and limbs from Friday’s storm. I don’t know what to get yet, but I’m looking at both Husqvarna and Stihl, and I’m open to suggestions. I know it needs to be a gas unit for all the work we need to do around here, but I won’t actually be cutting down any trees, just cleanup work, so it doesn’t have to be a massive, powerful saw.

In other news, Alli is not the least bit bothered by thunder, as many dogs are, but she has more energy than a dozen tornadoes wrapped up in one. She loves chasing a ball or frisbee or walking along the perimeter roads with me as I check out the damage. I bought her a cheap frisbee a while back, but it didn’t take her long to chew it up. Looking on Amazon, I found this Kong Flyer, which is flexible and looks to be just about indestructible.

I’m not a great frisbee thrower, and it doesn’t go very high, but it gets out there enough to give her a good run to bring it back. And after doing it long enough she gets tired and says, “That’s enough for today” and lies down in the shade.

I also ordered a XiaZ Hanging Bungee Outdoor Tether Tug of War Rope Toy for her and hung it off of the corner of the deck. She really likes it, and by the fierce look on her face you would think she was ready to mangle something or someone, but trust me, she’s a big baby who loves everybody she meets.

Congratulations Ronald Brazell, winner of our drawing for an audiobook of my pal Ken Rossignol’s The Chesapeake: Country Cornpone Cornucopia. It’s a series of short stories of and about people in and around the Tidewater Chesapeake region – along with a few stories from other regions when the writer’s travels.

We had 28 entries this time around. Stay tuned, a new contest starts soon. Note: due to the high shipping cost of printed books and amazon restrictions on e-books and audiobooks to foreign countries, only entries with U.S. addresses and e-mail addresses are allowed.

And finally, here’s a chuckle to start your day from the collection of funny signs we see in our travels and that our readers share with us. A friend sent this because after our weather issues, we needed to see a smiling face.

Thought For The Day – A happy marriage is when one half snores and the other one does not hear it.