Monday, September 11, 2017

The Day Before Irma

There was one last walk through a perky Tall Flower Meadow with the full posse of refugees the day before Irma arrived.





















It had been a beautiful day though it was only one notch above cold from the front that passed through earlier in the week. Fall was in the air and a tropical storm was at our doorstep.





















I was mentally preparing for it all to sail away in a deluge and roaring wind. Will this be the end just when the blue asters are getting ready to pop?





















It is quite normal for the Tall Flower Meadow to flop. Tall stems topped with heavy blooms have a tendency to bend. The paths were already closing off from Sister #1's visit from a few days before.




















The posse pushed its way through. The quick pace set by two dogs leading the way in a mild scented frenzy. To them it was like another planet. Given a choice, all varmints prefer an open path in the Tall Flower Meadow. That helps keep a gardener calm.





















There was a round of blasting winds in the night that finally took the top off a giant dead hemlock tree. It never hit the ground. The thick rope of a grapevine has left it suspended. One large branch of a Black Locust dangles. It too unfallen.

The meadow still looked intact. The rains hadn't begun yet.





















Irma has entered gently. Mist became drizzle that turned to a gentle rain. The wind has been but a good steady breeze. The temperature has never gotten above fifty two degrees. This has been one cold ass hurricane. It has rained all day and in the dark the rain has begun to increase in intensity.

So far it has not been overly violent. There is a chance.





















The day before Irma the Tall Flower Meadow was standing. Flop is expected. Stem snapping devastation is a bummer. Which will it be?

The answer will come in the dark of the night. Tomorrow Irma will take her leave.