Off the Cuff / My Other Journal

Getting Ready for Ernesto

They say Ernesto's big show won't be the wind so much, but the water. Luckily, we have flood insurance, and if you don't consider the entire South Florida a flood zone, then we are not in a flood zone, except for the proximity of a canal and few smaller waterways.
With all the storms we've been through, we've never been flooded so far. We've been wind swept and wind damaged, but no water has ever come in, even into my living room, which has a sunken floor.
For readying up the place, my husband and I spent the weekend cleaning around and oiling the contraptions inside where the shutters go. Then, yesterday, my son came and put up the shutters that need to be carried and put up. A few windows and all the sliding doors to the porch have accordion shutters. We leave them to the end. If we don't, the house becomes too dark.
Then, today, I spent a good part of the morning, emptying the closed porch. We only have an outdoor set of table and chairs to bring in. We can do that when the rain starts or once I catch my breath, whichever comes first.
Now, it is sunshiny out and awfully warm. It always gets like that before a storm. The animals are the first to sense something is brewing. All the salamanders and other tiny animals want to come into the house with me. I'm having one heck of a time shooing them away. Lol!
Early in the morning, I went out to the storage room and brought in the big plastic garbage containers and filled them with water. I bought these containers for hurricane purposes only. After each hurricane season, I keep them wrapped in several layers of plastic bags after cleaning and sterilizing them.
I filled several other containers with water, too, and left them in the three bathrooms inside the house. One of the worst results of the hurricanes is that the tap water can become contaminated for days and even brushing one's teeth becomes dangerous. This hasn't really happened to us, except for a day or two once, but there is always a first time for things to go bad for days or weeks.
We don't have a generator. Some people bought the ones on wheels or installed them in ground. Since neither hubby nor I are too great with mechanical/technical stuff, I'm afraid of generators. For one thing, they make too much noise. Second, several people have died or were badly injured trying to get them working. I think, better safe than sorry. Thus, when the electricity goes (and it will surely go), the electricity goes. Period.
Just in case, to get my WC fix, I took out the old Dell laptop and recharged its battery, which lasts only about one hour, that is if the cable connection is there (it won't work anyway since the main modem works with electricity), or else, I hope the telephone lines stay put, since we still keep the old ISP.
We have flashlights, batteries, radios and a small battery-operated TV. We got drinking water and food enough for a month.
The refrigerators are working at their coldest at the moment and we have lots of ice stored. All the laundry is done and the dishes washed.
I picked up a few of the larger oranges from the orange tree, but left the others. The ones I picked will mature inside and if the wind gets the fruit, at least I'll have a few reminders. When I was picking them, I saw a bird's nest among its branches, which wasn't there a few months ago. I just hope the baby birds have grown up and flown away. Just in case, I didn't touch the branches or the fruit around the nest.
We used to have several beautiful citrus trees, but 2004 hurricanes did away with them. Now we have only this tree left and a half of another tangelo, which cannot bear fruit anymore after getting damaged so extensively.
Oh well, as the mystics say, this too shall pass.
This one will be a category one hurricane at best. It isn't much, since we are now at the height of the hurricane season.
What may come after Ernesto, until November, may become more of a problem.