What's with hurricane season?

[kerouac2]

Glad that all is well!

I guess you'll be doing a bit of gardening in the coming days.

You've probably seen that a new storm might be brewing off the coast of South America.

[mickthecactus]

Good to hear you are ok casi. X

[bjd]

Glad to know you are alright, Casi.

[casimira]

Thank you good people.

Yes Kerouac, I do have quite a bit of work to and am not looking forward to it.

One very tall Cherry Laurel way in the back snapped about 3/4's of the way down and will require a chain saw.
The bananas are bent in half and will have to be whacked with a machete.
It's the hauling and raking up that's going to be the most back breaking.

I'm particularly dismayed by the large stand of the bananas going down as they served as a privacy screen and somewhat of a sound buffer from the creepy neighbor who built a "man cave" that looks directly into our balcony and master bedroom.
I know they grow back quickly but not quick enough for me.

[bixaorellana]

Any chance you can shore up the bananas so that they can heal themselves? Even saving some of them this way will help you screen out cave man until the rest of the stand grows back.

That's a shame about the cherry laurel, unless you were wanting it to go anyway. Was it already there when you moved in?

[casimira]

Unfortunately, there is no way to shore up or prop the bananas. Several factors; too heavy as they contain so much water. The leaves are so badly shredded and wind whipped, they would all be blowing around like crepe paper streamers on a Maypole.
The Cherry Laurel also served as a screen and even though it was originally a volunteer, it's placement was ideal and served as a great understory tree underneath one of the Live Oaks. The birds also loved to dine on it's berries.
The main trunk is still intact and the root system in place. 
It will grow back just fine over time.

An interesting find while working out back there this a.m. was the remains of a Purple Martin house from a neighbor's yard four houses away. They were foolish to not have taken it down as it was bound to come down in some fashion. Gratefully, it didn't do any damage to person or property.
I walked over nearby their house and I could see the pole it sat upon. It was bent almost in half.
On
the same walk I saw signs from a couple of businesses that were hung by chains gone. Goodness knows where they ended up.

I think that people were more worried about flooding and didn't take into account the fierce winds that the storm wrought.
Although there was plenty rain, it did not flood anywhere in the city.
Coastal areas got flooded from storm surge not rain. Most especially along the Mississippi Coast.

[kerouac2]

Tropical storm Eta will be giving Louisiana a break, because it is going to Nicaragua.

[htmb]

Looks like Eta will be paying Florida a visit over the weekend.

[kerouac2]

Yes, whatever is left of it. It probably won't have enough time to strengthen much after its Central American ordeal.

[kerouac2]

Now it looks like Eta will be a hurricane again when it reaches south Florida.

[casimira]

Yep, I spoke with my dear friend in Miami Beach just a little while ago and she said it was whipping up wind and rain there .
We will not know much until it enters the Gulf. 
"The Cone of Uncertainty" is really getting old...I'm exhausted from it all.

[bixaorellana]

It's awful to say, but the US election rather eclipsed the horrible damage and loss of life Eta caused in Central America.

[kerouac2]

Well, I tracked it because of my friend in Guatemala (the hardest hit country), but he is on the Pacific side rather than the Gulf side, so he was not affected.

[casimira]

Nov 8, 2020 23:13:22 GMT kerouac2 said:

Well, I tracked it because of my friend in Guatemala (the hardest hit country), but he is on the Pacific side rather than the Gulf side, so he was not affected.

I think you may have your bodies of water confused K2.

[bixaorellana]

Casimira, look at the map. What Kerouac said makes sense ~

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}{Spoiler}

[casimira]

AH!!! I see it now. Thanks.

[casimira]

It looks like Eta is pounding the SE part of Florida's Gulf Coast.
Looking at the radar Sanibel Island is right in the crosshairs of it.
It's stalled out right now barely moving.
It's due to make landfall in Tampa sometime tomorrow and move across the Peninsula heading NE towards Georgia.

[kerouac2]

I saw that Mike Pence has cancelled his latest plans for a visit there this week. It is apparently one of his favourite places to go whenever he gets a chance. Maybe he'll get to rent the Kimbys' place for a longer period of time starting in February.

[htmb]

Looks like I’ll be spending most of tomorrow with Eta, since it’s forecast to travel across my part of North Central Florida. It’s been upgraded back to a cat 1 hurricane, but may be downgraded again later this afternoon due to some instability. Meanwhile, there have been tornado warnings issued in some of the areas around Tampa Bay. This storm could cause a lot of coastal erosion and we could get a good amount of rain (it’s already rained here most of the week), or it could strengthen and become a bit of a wind event. Time will tell.

[casimira]

Eta sure has made the rounds jeezums...
Having been in the "Cone of Uncertainty" so any times this season, it's always that "time will tell" factor that cranks me up into a state of anxiety.
Stay safe HTMB and I hope the Kimby's home goes undamaged.

[htmb]

Many thanks!

[casimira]

I'm  more than guessing that HTMB is being inundated with rain and likely loss of electrical power as Eta made her trek across Central Florida.
This is a storm that just won't quit.

[htmb]

Fortunately, we never lost power, though what was left of the eye of the storm went right over us. We’re still seeing a steady rain and some gusty winds. I’m waiting to watch the noon news, but it appears to me my part of the state came through unscathed. Much of the area on the west coast of Florida, from Cedar Key south, saw flooding, heavy rain, and some very strong winds. However, it seems like business as usual in Cedar Key this morning, as far as I can tell.

There’s another system building strength in the Central Caribbean that bears watching.

[bixaorellana]

Very reassuring to hear from you, Htmb ~ thanks! So glad you all weren't hit as hard as anticipated.

Has anyone heard from Huckle?

[casimira]

Glad to hear you got through it ok HTMB.

If memory serves me well, I believe that the area where Huckle lives is just North of Miami and South enough that they didn't get it too bad over this past weekend when it came in from Cuba.

[kerouac2]

Huckle is fine. She was enjoying watching the rain beat against her windows.

[mickthecactus]

Gosh that sounds awful huckle. I hope that gets cleared up for you very soon.

[htmb]

I’m very sorry to hear your news, Huckle. Sounds pretty awful.

[casimira]

Sorry to hear that Huckle. Hope it drains off soon. We've experienced similar conditions here.

I haven't seen Kimby on here since before the storm hit around her property in Florida. I hope all is well with her situation.

[kerouac2]

And here comes TD31, soon to gain another Greek name. The track for the moment is the same as Eta -- Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala -- but we all know how Eta went wandering after leaving Central America.