From the first time I heard the name assigned to this hurricane, I haven't been able to get the song "Goodnight Irene" out of my head! Did you know that the guy who wrote this very simple song sold it to about 10 different publishers for something like $50 each before any one caught on? He made a nice chunk of change, and it was decided that the song would become public domain almost immediately.
As anyone who reads my blog knows, I live right next to the Pompeston Creek. We've been watching the water carefully - so far there's just been a lot of silt and sediment. The tide is on its way out at the moment, I'll be watching once it turns and heads back in. With big storms, we usually get a lot of strange debris floating in from the river - I'll let you know if we get anything really bizarre.
I've been "battening down the hatches" in preparation, but there is almost always something that catches you off guard. I've secured the trash cans and kayaks, covered everything on the porch, followed the directions for putting together an emergency kit, bought an apple pie to keep me company.
The tortoises seem to know that something is going on - they went into their houses early today. Rover tried to get into the house first (he knows how to open the screen door into the kitchen), and wasn't happy about being put back outside. The other turtles don't seem concerned yet, but they might get edgy as the storm gets closer.
I'll be watching and listening to the birds and insects to see if there are any changes in their sounds or behaviors. During the earthquake, all of the cricket sounds disappeared, and I'm curious to see how nature reacts to this storm.
