A day of Idalia...
surviving the storm within me.
Wednesday, August 30th
I am tasting the bitterness of my coffee. I have been awake since 0230. Idalia has been upgraded to a Category 4 hurricane and it appears that we are directly in its path. I realize as well, that today is the full moon. I feel very on edge. I can’t decide if it’s the storm coming or the full moon but something has my anxiety at peak levels.
As soon as daylight breaks, hubby and I rush around the farm, in the incoming showers, securing animals. We moved chicken shade structures that may be over turned or swept away in 60mph winds. We used t-posts to secure their chicken tractor which has been known to turn upside down in winds. We closed Daisy Mae, the milkless milk cow, in her pen at the barn. And I suited up and used bungee straps to secure my bees. Hubby also filled up several barrels with water we could use to water the animals and flush toilets. We moved our vehicles out from under any large trees.
Then, I headed into work for a few hours with an almost stifling anxiety. “I must keep moving, keep doing, keep my mind busy.” I kept telling myself. I’ve found that is the best way to deal with it, otherwise, I end up curled up in a ball under my fuzzy blanket.
I made it back home from work around 12:30 PM and the rain was really coming down. Blowing sideways and not leaving anywhere for critters to stay dry. I was happy I had the forethought to get out a pound of butter so I could bake a “hurricane cake”. It’s something I’ve started doing every time a hurricane is headed our way. I also filled several half gallon mason jars with water for us to drink and cook with if the power went out for an extended time.
I hurriedly got out the rest of the ingredients for the poundcake, layered them in the mixer, mixed them thoroughly, poured it into a tube pan, and put it in the oven. Hoping to get it done before the real winds got here and knocked the power off. It takes an hour and a half to bake.
Around 3:00 PM, the wind started. Listening to it howl around the house and watching as it blew my Granny’s 70 year old magnolia tree around like a rag doll was almost too much to bear at times. I would go into our windowless bathroom and shut the door sitting in the dark to calm myself. I could still hear the wind but not watching it, calmed me a bit.
The electricity finally went out at 5:00 PM. I could no longer sit in the house that was beginning to become stifling from the humidity. The rain was lighter, so I went out to the barn to check on Daisy Mae who was quite upset that everything under her shelter was soaked, including her.
I then made my way over to the greenhouse and found it surprisingly dry inside. Thankful we had let the sides down and closed the doors. I decided I would start potting up my hundreds of brassica seedlings. The wind was still gusting and the trees were still swaying, but somehow I was more calm being outside in it than I was watching it from the safety of the house. Keeping my hands busy in the brown, earthy smelling soil, soothed my anxious soul.
The power came back on at 7:00 PM. The wind had died down enough to take a walk around the farm and see that all was well. The eastern narrow mouth toads were bleating from my garden frog pond. Lots of debris to clean up but no major damage. I went to bed early that night, but something was still tugging at my soul, a deep, deep sadness.