Saturday, September 13, 2008: HURRICANE IKE
At 4:29AM, they awoke to a loud BOOM. Transformer blew. No power.
Winds have picked up but not much rain. They went back to bed to awaken at 5:30 to find their world has changed dramatically. How to describe a hurricane 90 miles inland? No waves, of course, and no palm trees – unlike the movies. Unfortunately, their trees do not bend like those along the coast.
Their oaks, hickorys, pines, cherry laurels, olives, sweet gums, elms and her beloved Rain Tree are whipping and bending and blowing in every direction. The orchard is full of young trees and doing OK, so far. Lots of debris flying through the air. There is a huge branch on their front porch. Where did that come from?
Daylight is coming, bringing with it more visuals of this storm. The cameras are out and she is video-taping from the front porch and the back porch. Hearing loud snaps & cracks, trees are falling and splitting. Then, she remembers! What about the dead tree standing next to the hen house? Would her chickens and guenias survive? It is not safe to check on them. The storm is blowing too hard. The rains have begun……blowing sideways.
And the storm goes on and on and on.
She screams! There goes the barn roof. The metal looks like a piece of cotton as it is lifted and torn in the wind. What about the horses? She made the decision to make a run for the barn. Poor Sierra is standing in a stall filled with water and her roof gone. She is terrified. Nothing can be done about it. It is too risky to move her. After a quick pat of reassurance, she runs back to the house keeping an eye on the 110 foot Sweet Gum tree that was shifting with each 90 mph wind gust. Then he decides that the horses would all be less stressed if they had some hay to munch upon. So, off he goes, while she keeps one eye on him and one eye on that dancing Sweet Gum.
And the storm goes on and on.
Angie and Autumn are sending text messages from Maine and Virginia. That is their only communication of Ike’s progress.
The house is groaning from the stress of the wind but it is a good, strong house and they have no fears for their safety. The pond is almost full, more trees fall and the storm goes on.
After hours of wind and rain and stress, the storm seems to lesson. They go upstairs with their wind-up weather alert radio. Angie texted to tell them the last strong band was about to hit. It did. She video taped it at the same time some incredibly stupid woman, who indentifies herself as a school teacher, is calling into the radio station demanding that she be given power because she needs a shower.
The storms finally passes and they go out to survey the damage.
The barn roof has left 1/3rd of their newly delivered hay wet and possibly ruined. Sierra is led from her flooded, roofless barn stall to a nice, dry stall upon the hill. All the stall windows are opened and the horses get to look out upon their changed and wet world.
Trees are down, power lines are on the ground, fences are broken and bowed, debris everywhere and just such a mess.
However, they are lucky out here at Burnt Biscuit Ranch. All the critters are fine and their people are fine too. And the chickens? That dead tree did fall. It fell away from Autumn’s House of Hens.
And, now, the clean-up begins.