It was a memorable week. August is the driest month in Southern California. I only remember it raining in August once and it was really just drizzle. So, the news of a hurricane/tropical storm coming our way threw us all into a panic.
There was a threat of a large quantity of rain and high winds. All the outdoor umbrellas were fold down and laid on the ground so they wouldn't fly through the air and become weapons. I picked as many of the ripe oranges as I could before the wind could knock them to the ground.
All the odds and ends of stuff that could be ruined by water or blown around were put away. All the lanterns were filled with new batteries and spread around the house if the power went off. We had bottles of water just in case.
And then we waited. The night before the storm was to hit, I kept wondering what the conditions would be the next night. Would one of the towering Torrey pine trees fall over. Would the yard flood up so much that water came inside as it did so many years ago. Would the glass umbrella table be picked up and carried across the yard as happened once before.
The morning of the storm was gloomy and the temperature was around 70 where it stayed all day. The rain finally started in late morning. I tensed waiting for it to get worse and for the wind to start whipping through the trees. We discovered too latte that we had missed something in our preparations. The gutters. One was overflowing and pouring water on the outdoor electrical outlet where the Tesla is plugged in. I had to hold the ladder while my son climbed up to clear the gutter. It's a very high gutter which meant he had to go way up on the eight foot ladder, while I kept moving my hands to hold it steady without getting my fingers stepped on.
With the outlet not getting drenched, he unplugged the car and left. I went inside to have a cup of coffee and dry off. That's when I noticed the stool I was sitting on seemed to be moving and when I looked at a glass of water on the table, it was sloshing back and forth. One of the cats was on the table and looked back at me. All I could think of was- Really? An earthquake and a storm. Isn't there some rule that you can only have one disaster at a time? And that I was glad my son wasn't on the ladder depending on me to keep it steady.
The rain continued but never got worse. The yard never flooded. The wind never came. We were lucky. But I felt all mixed up. What day was it? What month was it? The whole idea of it being a Sunday in August was gone from my mind. All the anticipation and worry had left me feeling wilted.
The TV news kept showing the same videos of a couple of desert towns that got flooded and some mountain areas that had mud flow. There was no mention of all the areas like ours where it was just some rain. The earthquake caused some damage in Ojai where it was centered, but nothing catastrophic, thank heavens.
The sun has come out and the last of the puddles are gone. The oranges are still on the trees waiting to be picked. Everything is a bright green. It took a day or so for me to get back to feeling that it was August and no atmospheric river would bring more storms. The umbrellas are back up and all is well once again. It's all ready to just become a memory.
6 comments:
Good morning -- So glad you didn't have any serious problems from the storm. Seems news reports always focus on one or two really bad spots and show them over and over. Years ago, our little Texas town flooded -- the news showed a picture of people sitting on the roof of their house, waiting to be rescued, and a black Labrador jumping back and forth from that roof to the roof of the garage. That picture was shown many, many times. We had water within inches of the backdoor but none in the house, thank goodness.
The really hot weather this summer has made a mess of several of my potted succulents -- even the huge saguaro cactus in the area have suffered badly. I've been pruning and cutting back plants -- the weather is moderating a bit so hopefully the plants will do well. The area where my son lives was an orange grove years ago and lots of trees remain -- they are loaded with fruit.
I, of course, continue to do lots of crocheting. I love the color sequence usually used for granny squares so have adapted it to a rectangular blanket of rows of double crochet -- back and forth rather than around. So far, so good.
Enjoy your day -- happy writing and crocheting!
Patty, you are so right abouth the news showing the same trouble spots over and over. Inside Edition showed them too, but amped up the descriptions. It was really the anticipation that exhausted me.
Our house was built on a former orange grove and the trees were left in the backyard. Over time one row of them died off, but the other row of four trees is fine. It's been oranges all the time now since they are at the ripest. I like to say direct from God to us. They are incredibly sweet and juicy. My tomato plant has been producing some tomatoes. Love to add them to salad.
It's too bad about the cactus plants, but your weather sounded brutal. I hadn't been doing much crocheting since my stash got moved around so I could give the room to Jakey. He used it for a while, but now stays in the den.
Hope you have nice weather for the weekend.
Sounds as if your experience during the storm was similar to mine, Betty. It wasn't too terrible, although it rained hard during the night, and our meter indicated we'd gotten five inches of rain when it was over. And my desk chair at the computer swayed beneath me for a few seconds after my phone gave a peal I didn't recognize to let me know an earthquake had started. Glad it all wasn't worse for either of us!
Linda, five inches of rain! That's a lot. I don't know how much it rained here, but our yard did't flood. I sat out in my yard this morning (Sunday) with my coffee. It was sunny and calm. Hard to think just a week ago the storm was here. Yes, I'm glad too that it wasn't as bad as predicted.
My area lost electricity twice. The first time it was shut off so the authorities could decide what to do. The second time was because of lightening somewhere. It was off for about two hours each time. I felt the earthquake too. We still have two big portable generators outside our building so they are still working on the electricity. I'm glad your house survived the storm. All the warning on Saturday were scary.
I'm so glad things weren't worse. And an earthquake as well had to be nerve-rattling. We are gearing up for hurricane season here in Central Florida. Thus far, so good. Fingers crossed we keep on with the mild season. Hurricane Idalia is forming now but should be light. It seems like there is always something these days.
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