Its suppose to be mostly a rain event.so far the few strays haven't passed I-10 at this end.hubbys had a few showers at work but works closer to coast.I'm sorry for Jarie,but know she'll enjoy the rain(just tell it to turn east a lil more so I can have some showers)It will cool my temps down.We have better chance of rain later tonight.we got some wind finally.all morning was zero wind.its blown dry leaves off tree(I'll play with leaf blower once temps drop in a few days)Then we'll have Dean visiting in about a week(THATS something to watch)and something came off behind Dean too.Guess I'll start storeing ice in deep freeze.
I hope all you TX gals and guys stay safe and don't get too much wind and rain.
Hopefully the hurricanes will stay out of the gulf this year (fingers and toes crossed!)
It is on us right now. My plants love it maybe 11+ inches of rain I hope. I finally figure why my brugs are not getting tall. We are the 3 windiest area in the US. It is Dean that is on target for the Gulf it will be a hurricane in the next few hours. My plaNTS ARE USED TO 40-60 MPH WINDS. Now 100+ and we will see if the stalks survive.
Erin did its thing at night so it had died down a bunch. It is over my house right now and just rain no high winds.
I'm glad it took some of the heat.I won't see temps in the 100s today.I have a 40%-50% chance of rain(it flips back n forth)Now that my temps are down in 90s maybe my morning& afternoon pop showers will return.Houston had a heat lightning show last night.They said was from an outter band storm.was in the webster area.Galveston set both a new Hi& Lo record yesterday.
Jim, it's been about 12 hours since you reported the storm was upon you. I'm guessing that by now it's passed? What was the end result...how did you fare?
Joy, leave it to TX to set a record hi and low in the say day! As they say, "No where but Texas".
Patrick
Brug Moderator
USDA Zone 8b
Heat Zone 3
Sunset Zone 5
SeaTac, WA...one cool place
My sister is more worried about Dean than me.I'm watching him.I'll worry by Friday....and watching whats behind Dean.
Seems San Antonio got a good bit of rain from Erin& parts of Houston did.I finally got some showers later in the evening.had a nice 10 minute downpour around 5 with rain going sideways& then about 8 got some showers.San Antonio is under flash flood watch& are expecting 5 additional inches of rain today.
So Jarie how'd you fare?hope no new cuttings started..
I have my water filled& will start collecting ice for the deep freeze.I bought some bread for deep freeze.Texans seem to freak out about bread.plus have a bread recipie now.I can't pull start the generator...but know how to check its oil& spark plug and still have the spare spark plug and located the pig tail to hook the house.We'll see by Tuesday.
please don't blow versicolor oranges buds off.I want to see it bloom!
Erin is history for us, thank goodness. According to a neighbor we had no rain, no wind, just hot weather like it always is.
BUT Dean looks like it could be concerning. Most of the long range forecasters think that it might hit Mexico or Texas. Right now it's too far away to know exactly where the strike will be but I understand that our city is out doing clean up and putting pumps in certain areas that flood easily. Apparently they're trying to plan ahead. According to the weather man, if it would hit between Tampico and the Valley we could get a LOT of rain. I guess the counter clock rotation would pick up the moisture and dump it here. By Sunday or Monday it will be close enough to make a better determination and lets hope it heads elsewhere. We'll still be in the Chicago area so will miss Dean's wrath but we're hoping we don't have to use our newly purchased flood insurance. Keep your fingers crossed for us.
By the way, I've added pictures to my photo album of our new grandson.
I lost the largest bud on versicolor orange...so didn't get to decide if it would have bloomed by Thursday anyway.The smaller ones are left& those will proably not stay....I will post a sign though.
I bought a bunch of batteries 6 volts& Ds.I broke my fingernail trying to pull start the generator.we've decided to try to get the push button to start it fixed.We learned durring Rita it didn't work no more.I'm makeing butter bowl cubes today. 1 trashbag full.I counted over 190 containers to relocate.I believe to under the house. some tall ones & hangers may come in house.And the monster hoya.It has vines escapeing to onto the roof.
I hope all stays safe for you Jarie.congrats on the grandson.
Joy, I am an ignorant northerner, what are butter bowl cubes and how are they used in a hurricane? (and if not used in a hurricane, why are you making them just before one?). Thanks, Selma
I'm going to venture a guess & see whether Joy confirms I got it right. I think she's freezing water in margarine tubs...."butter bowl (ice)cubes", right? I imagine if the power goes out because of the hurricane, they'll be handy to have on hand in the August heat.
Patrick
Brug Moderator
USDA Zone 8b
Heat Zone 3
Sunset Zone 5
SeaTac, WA...one cool place
Wow, are you smart Patrick! I guess that sounds reasonable, about like freezing the 2 liter bottles to make ice packs for a sore muscle! Or travelling through a hot climate with no a/c!
Yes, I can see why she would be making them than! Thanks. s
The center went over us at night. We got about 6" not much rain in the center at night. All of our relatives worry about us from the news. We can handle 20+ inches of rain. I never turned the sprinkler system off. It is sweltering today.
As far as Dean, a cat 3 or above it is time to leave. We live in a small community and have a seldom traveled evacuation route so we can be 70+ miles inland in an hour. We watch the floaters and a couple of more live satellite's. Then at the last second make the decision to run or not. It is an old drill run many times. It does get old in an active year. Sometime we leave hard to reach windows boarded up until hurricane season is over.
All the plants are in survival mode now. I tried a polymer anti-transpirant on the plants. (everything) The stuff works real well and I have not seen a mite in a month. I am sold.
Wow a cat 5 in the Gulf????? To my Texas neighbors, wishing all good luck. I guess a 48 qt ice chest filled with vermiculite for my cuttings if I have to run. No reason to leave more than a small stalk if it comes our way.
Freezing ice water before a hurricane is a good idea. In LA we went through H. Rita and flooded badly. We couldn't even get to our house for a week. I had froze several empty gallon milk jugs and put them throughout the fridge and freezer. The electricity was off for a week before we were even able to get home. Although we had a few feet of water inside the house and our fridge was ruined, the stuff in the freezer actually was still cold and had ice crystals still in the frozen meat!! So I guess if we didn't flood then it would have still all been good.
If your house/fridge doesn't flood you can still use the melted ice water for hand washing etc. You wouldn't believe how much you need water and wells will be bad too, if they flood and your pump gets submerged for awhile. If you have a hurrican coming your way, you should go get a bunch of large water containers from walmart or the farm stores and store water to leave at your house for when you come back from evacuating- you may need it.
I would also get a bottle of bleach and some cleaning supplies -just in case. Lots of canned foods/meats etc.
Once we got home from a week's evacuation we didn't have electricity back for a week as well. So if you have a generator, now is the time to fire it up, make sure it has oil and you have a supply of gasoline. Dont wait until after the hurricane to see if your generator is gonna work - I know people who did that and had to go without.
Make sure you have lots of cash on hand because if there is a major catastrophe (like katrina and rita incidents) the power could be out in all the stores and gas stations etc. Some might open up shop but thier debit/credit machines will be down and they will only accept cash. That happened to us too.
Get some of those solar yard lights too because they are great to bring inside at night when you have no power and you don't need batteries. I have a shake up magnetic flashlight that worked pretty well.
The best thing I had besides a generator, was a 'crank' weather radio that had a TV and l.e.d lights on it. No need for batteries with that thing.
You might consider a good power inverter for your car as well.
Our kids saved their video games and game systems by double bagging them in huge ziplocks and putting them in the highest cupboards. you can do this with photos and small electronics like DVD players etc.
We all that live in the hurricane zone need reminders. I am going to buy a wind up radio/flashlight/weather band. Always seem to come in handy. Candles are cool but let on fall over in the middle of the night. I use 30 gallon water drums and a reverse osmosis system if we are without water. I always buy property on the highest hill in the area. I got that from my parents. On those generators, chain saws etc. I never let any gas but stabilized near them anytime. I have learned the hard way. This way they always start, even if it is 6 months to a year later. 1 quart treats 20+ gallons. Cheap insurance.
yes butter tubs make great ice chunks(besides cooling dogs water& I've even added dog treats to some for the dog...seen the dog treat idea on DIY network tips)I also have 2 layers of frozen milk jugs in bottom of deep freeze.with Rita I went 2 weeks with no power so am quiet familur with my generator now.I've also bought a power box.This is the $59 one it will jump start a car has a light& 2 outlets.I had planned on buying the $99 one with the radio.The one I have will run about 4 hours,depending what you use.mostly i'll watch a dvd useing it durring power outages from storms.I know It will power portable DVD player long enough to watch 4 movies.I've also made myself permently prepared battery wise.....rechargeables!I didn't find any 6 volt rechareables though.And I located my cooking rack.(handy for cooking over fire)I've added a few recipes to camp book since Rita.After rita....I read up more on cooking over open fire (I even still have tree debreee from rita thats now seasoned)Chainsaws are important for after storms.This time if stuff happens...it won't take 2 days to clear the woods off our road...we got saw tuned& spare chains.
We'll know more on Tuesday where its going.I see they've flipped it more towards Jarie now.I kinda want the rain,but no wind& I have 2 trees I hate...Elm trees,trash trees,they drop leaves early and all the time in summer.I hope they fall in a northerly direction.I can guess right now...I won't be eating out for my birthday.
I have a crank radio.its my fishing radio.
As we sit here in the Chicago area, we're watching Dean pretty closely. This morning it looks like it will go south of us/south of Brownsville but with a hurricane you never know til the last minute. We won't be back in the Valley until Friday or Saturday which should be after the strike. At least we don't have to prepare for evacuation but we're praying that there is no significant property damage. Thanks for your concerns.
Wishing you and your place only good things to come from this hurricane. Have a safe trip home later this week. I'm still looking for a picture of the baby. LOL!
All eyes are still on Dean. We also have 3 more areas of formation next to Florida. Glad you are heading back to Brownsville. August can be a fire drill all month long. Kind of like Erin clouds one day and tropical storm the next. Erin cleared out high level cross winds. There is not much deterrent for formation now.
I do appreciate the rain from Dean and Erin. We have had 8+ inches of rain and I still dump 3000+ gallons of water a day on 2 acres and it is still thirsty. I can feel the nights getting a little cooler fall is on the way. I live for the winter.
I was hopeing for rain...guess I needed to be within 200 miles.I seen a gray mass of clouds pass over but no rain only cooler air last evening.I was watering.The night before left the water on in the brug bed.It got watered for 6 hours And I worried I would do this with the soaker hose..........
Lucas is cute.My MIL is stopping to see our grandkids(8 boys) on way back from Indpls.They'll see them the 4th.
');
We won't be back in the Valley until Friday or Saturday which should be after the strike. At least we don't have to prepare for evacuation but we're praying that there is no significant property damage. Thanks for your concerns.
And I worried I would do this with the soaker hose..........