Bye-Bye Irma (Irma #6)

She's gone...sort of. In the darkness of the early morning hurricane Irma passed right over us here in central Florida. It's now mid-morning and even though a weakened and less organized Irma is already in Georgia, we're still experiencing  tropical storm force winds upwards of 50 mph. We're told these will be with us for most of the day. After yesterday and this morning these gusts are no big deal. She's still a huge storm, though, spreading her rains and winds over hundreds of miles. Here's a radar view, more or less current:

The winds and rains howled and hammered all night, but we seem to have come through with little or no damage. Our trees lost a lot of branches, but from what I can tell, most were very small. I might have to make some repairs to our garage door, but other than that all is well. I stayed up until 3 a, m, and then finally grabbed a few hours of sleep. I think an afternoon nap might be called for.

Millions of Floridians are without electrical power, but here in The Villages, at least in our neighborhood, we seem to have lost nothing. We still have electricity, telephones, internet --  the bounty of the good life promised by modern civilization. The only thing I lost was AT&T cell service, but it's already back, up and running.

Now we're just thankful that we came through this safely. Occasionally God needs to remind us of the power of His creation. The humble recognize this and realize that as inhabitants of this tiny planet we're actually powerless little critters, totally dependent on His mercy. I trust those who mistakenly think they are powerful might come to accept the truth of God's omnipotence.

There is one powerful gift God extends to us: the power of prayer. And Diane and I thank you for your prayers. We also turn to our two patron saints, the martyrs St. Vitus and St. Elmo (Erasmus), and thank them for their intercession.

We pray, too, for those who are still feeling the effects of Irma. We have relatives and friends in northern Florida, Georgia and South Carolina and pray for their safety.

As the hymn reminds us: "Praise God from Whom all blessings flow..." Yes, indeed, God is good.

With that, I'm finished with Irma -- no more updates.

Irma Heads Right For Us (Irma #5)

Well...the highly unpredictable Irma changed course after making landfall in Marco Island, Florida. Instead of heading off to the northwest as most of the tracking models predicted, she decided to charge ahead almost due north. The problem for us is that this new course will cause her to pass directly over us here in Sumter County. Arrgghhh.

The Villages, our massive retirement community of well over 100,000 residents, spans three Florida counties: Lake, Marion, and Sumter. Our home is in Sumter County and is apparently in Irma's crosshairs. According to the seemingly wise meteorologists of Orlando's Channel 9 (WFTV), we will experience some very high winds beginning around midnight and lasting for many hours. We can expect things to settle down around 7 or 8 a.m. tomorrow.

Right now I estimates we're feeling the effects of perhaps 50 mph winds, along with constant torrential rains. It's quite noisy so winds perhaps twice as strong should really keep us awake. No damage yet...well, no damage heard or seen, but it's a very dark night. I'll have to wait until morning to survey the exterior of the house. I'm still a bit concerned about the live oak trees behind the houses on this side of our street. Although I don't expect Irma to uproot these large tress, her strong, shifting winds will probably rip off some large branches. We hope none will damage any homes.

Diane and Maddie are both asleep. (It's now past 11 p.m.) As for me, the storm seems to have awakened me -- some sort of stimulant effect. I also feel a kind of manly sense of responsibility calling me to watch over Dear Diane and our home. I can't imagine going to bed while Irma roars just beyond our thin walls. And someone should stay awake in the event of a tornado warning, so we can all -- Diane, Maddie and I -- retreat to the guest bathroom, our only interior room with no windows. 

We still have electrical power and all the other utilities we've come to rely on. And for this we thank both St. Elmo and St. Vitus. Our diocese -- the Diocese of Orlando -- has placed a prayer on the diocesan website. I invite you to pray:

May God calm the storms of our heart.
Let us pray that God will calm the storms of our heart. May we remember to check on one another as the storms arrive – our coworkers, our neighbors, our friends, our families – to assure each other of our care and concern for our safety and well-being.

May He bring safety to all in the path of the storm

We pray for those in the path of the storm, for all evacuating to safety and for all who will work to serve our communities and protect the dignity of life. May we take care of ourselves, our loved ones and those God puts in our path.

Let us pray for protection

Lord of mercy, watch over and protect all of your children in the path of Hurricane Irma. Please protect us and guide us toward safe harbors as we take shelter in you. Amen.

It Begins (Irma #4)

The rains and wind have arrived in earnest. We're already on the receiving end of tropical storm force winds and the rain is coming down in buckets. It's hard to believe this is just a first taste of Irma's power. She is one very large storm, larger than any I've experienced, well over 500 miles in diameter. The forecast for our area is not encouraging. She will strengthen and hammer us throughout the night and into tomorrow.

A few moments ago I stepped out on the lanai and noticed that water is beginning to pool in the area between the houses. There's pretty good drainage back there but I'm not real confident it can keep up with a storm of this intensity. When hurricane Frances hit us back in 2004 we experienced some significant flooding behind our house, but it eventually drained off and did no damage. Water also seeped in under the front door. Fortunately we managed to sop it up with dozens of towels until the rains stopped. But we've had so much rain this summer that I'm afraid the ground is already waterlogged. We'll see.

Maddie viewing the empty lanai

Adding to the excitement are the tornadoes that accompany Irma. A dozen or so have already popped up in central and eastern Florida with several causing serious damage by uprooting trees and destroying mobile homes. One TV meteorologist commented that well over 10% of Floridians live in mobile and manufactured homes, a fact that explains why they are so often the target of severe weather: there's just a lot of them. The only good thing about hurricane-embedded tornadoes is their size and duration: they tend to be small and they don't last long.

Oh, yes, for those of you concerned about our lizards, on my brief visit to the lanai I noticed that Leo, the largest of our three lizards, apparently decided to come out of hiding. The below photo shows him comfortably waiting out the storm. We are pleased that all three seem to be doing well, and trust they will make it through the "dark and stormy night."  

Leo, the largest of our lizards

We still have electricity, telephone, cable and internet; and this is good. At my age the idea of reverting to a more primitive lifestyle is unappealing. Whether all of these modern conveniences will still function tomorrow morning is anyone's guess, but I'm hoping for the best.

Martyrdom of St. Erasmus (Elmo)

Interestingly, when it comes to things electrical or electronic, Diane always asks St. Elmo to intercede. This all began when I once described the phenomenon known as "St. Elmo's Fire," a form of electrical discharge that sometimes appears on the masts and rigging of ships. Because sailors considered them to be signs of St. Elmo's protective concern, they named the phenomenon after him. The patron saint of sailors (and I suppose that includes me), Elmo is more properly known as St. Erasmus of Formia. I suppose Elmo is just a nickname preferred by sailors. And here's an amazing  coincidence: St. Elmo and St. Vitus (remember him from my first Irma post) were both martyred in the same year, 303 A.D. Isn't that remarkable? Our two patrons -- Elmo, Diane's patron of things electrical, and Vitus, the patron of protection from storms -- returned to the Father at about the same time.

And so I ask that you join with us as we turn to these two saintly martyrs in prayer, asking for their combined intercession for all who are in the path of this devastating storm. 

God's peace.

Hello Irma (Irma #3)

We're still in an awaiting mode, with little to do but watch the easily excitable weather people on TV. They are, of course, in their glory since these significant weather events are relatively rare. But when severe weather does occur, the meteorologists take center stage and all other news fades into the background. I'm always amazed by their ability to come up with new things to say. After all, hurricanes are really just a lot of very strong winds and torrential rains, but these TV weather people dazzle us with graphs and charts and tracks and millibars and cones and all sorts of wonderful stuff to keep us watching. I especially enjoy the weather reporters in the field who stand in knee-deep water while they lean into 50-knot winds and tell us things we can't understand because the sound of the wind drowns out their words. Then they remind us to stay indoors because these storms are dangerous.

And yet I continue to watch.

Earlier this morning, after joining Maddie on her morning walk through the neighborhood, I took holy water in hand and blessed the house and the surrounding trees, asking God to keep us safe. Two of our three resident lizards watched me intently as I sprinkled the lanai and them. As you can see clearly in the below photos, both showed real interest. Lizzie, the smallest, clung to one of the screens, while Leonard watched from his favorite ledge. Leo, the big guy, was nowhere to be seen, but I suspect he's hiding under the grill, his usual place of retreat whenever I enter the lanai.

Lizzie on the screen

Leonard on the ledge

I hope that all three make it through the storm. Dear Diane suggested inviting them into the house, but I nixed the idea assuming Maddie might not accept them. She has never bothered, or even taken an interest in, our lanai lizards but asking her to share the house with them might be expecting too much.  

As you can tell, I seem to have far too much time on my hands today. There's nothing much to do except wait and pray and occasionally raid the cookie jar. Although this morning we've experienced a few passing squalls with some wind and rain, so far all is relatively calm. We're told this will change this evening. The worst will be with us throughout the night, so I expect I'll get little sleep. I hope Diane and Maddie sleep well, but someone has to stay up and keep an eye on Irma as she passes through.

As you can see by this fairly recent map of Irma's track (above), the experts still anticipate that she'll follow the Gulf coast as she heads north. If that actually happens, we will be just outside the eyewall and be subjected to some very strong winds. Should be a fun night.

Again, keep us in your prayers, and don't forget St. Vitus, who has a special way with storms.

Peace...

Irma Update (Irma #2)

With hurricane Irma less than 24 hours away, Dear Diane and I have been trying to prepare for her arrival. Our first task? Empty the lanai of all furniture, so it doesn't get blown through the glass French doors that open to the living room.

The task is complete, but I didn't expect the reaction of the three little lizards that have been living in our lanai for several months. I named them a few weeks ago, from smallest to largest: Lizzie, Leonard and Leo. It just seemed like the proper thing to do since they had become permanent residents. Anyway, I think they're upset about all the unexpected activity. Every time I moved a chair or table, they ran for cover, seemingly very concerned about these sudden changes. Now, with the lanai completely empty, they have no place to hide. They have been sitting together on a ledge and staring down at the large void that was once their adopted home. Sad, but I suspect they'll recover once the storm passes...assuming they survive.

I feel confident that we've prepared as well as two old folks can. We have gallons of fresh water, enough batteries, weather radios, ice for the coolers, flashlights, candles, two full gas tanks for the grill, ice cream, cookies, and the most important item, good neighbors. I also have a little Irish whiskey for myself in the event of an emergency.

Here's Irma's current location and anticipated track:

We're still hoping that Irma -- now moving rather slowly along the north shore of Cuba -- will continue on her westward course for a while before making that anticipated turn toward the north. If she skirts Florida's gulf coast we will receive some very high winds here in Sumter County, so I'd prefer her farther out to sea.

The latest forecast for our area calls for hurricane force winds upwards of 100+ mph for a rather extended period: 5 pm Sunday through 2 pm Monday. That's a long time to be battered by so much wind. The forecast also predicted 8 to 15 inches of rain. To emphasize the seriousness of all this, the forecaster told us to expect power outages, flooding, and tornadoes. All very encouraging.

And so we continue to ask St. Vitus to intercede for us and for all who find themselves in the path of this huge storm. And I ask you, my tiny but holy remnant of readers, to keep us in your prayers. Praise God!

Here Comes Irma (Irma #1)

I can think of no better place to live than Florida...except during a hurricane.

Irma, apparently a hurricane of historic proportions, has set her sights on Florida. Dear Diane and I happen to live smack dab in the middle of this great state, something which causes me more than a little concern. The latest predictions by the weather-guessers show the storm smashing into South Florida and then moving north, right up the spine of the Florida peninsula. If these forecasts are accurate, Irma, still packing hurricane force winds, should reach us sometime early Monday.

Because we live in Central Florida, between Orlando and Ocala, we will be spared the destruction caused by the storm surge that affects coastal areas. But the high winds and heavy rains could still take their toll. So much depends on the path Irma ultimately follows. If she makes a slight right turn and heads north along the east coast, the damage here will be lessened but the people of coastal Georgia and the Carolinas could find themselves facing an even stronger storm. She could instead take a left turn into the Gulf and run up Florida's west coast. This, too, would be better for us, but might hammer the folks who live along the Gulf Coast and in the panhandle. There's really no good scenario, so the best we can do is pray that God will be merciful and keep us all safe.

We have not received an evacuation order -- at least, not yet -- but if we do, it might be a challenge to convince Dear Diane to leave. Where would we go? she asks. Drive north to stay with relatives in Georgia or friends in South Carolina? From the forecasts it seems the storm will simply follow us. She intends to stay put and assumes that our central location will limit the damage that a weakened Irma could inflict. I pray she is correct.

In truth, The Villages tends to weather bad storms fairly well. We can only hope the community will withstand Irma's fury when she arrives. Back in 2004, shortly after we moved here, three hurricanes -- Charley, Frances and Jeanne -- visited The Villages, one after another, and caused some damage; but our well-constructed house survived all three storms. The large live-oak trees behind our house were not so fortunate, but despite all the lost limbs, the trees survived. Because all the utilities -- cable, telephone and electricity -- are underground here in The Villages, we didn't suffer any outages back in 2004. (Actually, as I recall, we lost cable TV for about 30 minutes, but that was the extent of it.)

My biggest concern is the potential flooding that could result from 10 to 20 inches of rainfall. We have excellent drainage here but I can't imagine any drainage system coping effectively with such high levels of predicted rainfall. We'll see.

But because I always want to be prepared, I stopped by the local Publix supermarket this morning and loaded up on the essentials: ice cream and cookies. I also bought  40 pounds of ice and stashed it in the freezer. I own an "enhanced" ice chest that will keep ice nice and icy for five days. I also have two full tanks of gas for the barbecue grill in the event we cannot use the kitchen range. And if we must leave, the car's gas tank is also full. I think I'm ready for whatever Irma throws at us.

Patron: Protection from Storms

Anyway, we ask that all you folks who live up in snow country keep us in your prayers. And pray, too, for those in the Caribbean who have already suffered so much devastation from this storm.

We thank God for all that happens, knowing He turns everything to good for those who believe in Him.

And, lest I forget, the patron saint of protection from storms is St. Vitus, a martyr of the early fourth century. And so we pray too for his intercession.

God's peace.