Auntie Em! It's (almost) a twister!

To use a Swan-Phrase.....ging gao! Yesterday in the Clan of Heron we had us some weather. Here on the banks of the mighty Ohio, we got a visit from the tail of Ike. We woke to winds and lots of atmospheric pressure...thus the crappy migraine I "enjoyed" all day. As we all tried to wake up, the small pond we live on, was alive with whitecaps and bobbing ducks. And as the day progressed, many of the surrounding towns lost power... almost 700,000 homes powerless. But we remained powered.

I had made plans with my father-in-law, who is presently rehabbing after a nasty fall...to go do some clothes shopping for him yesterday. I crawled to my car, packing the killer migraine on my neck, shoulders, and head and went to him. The rehab center was on generator power only. As I entered the local Kohls, the power went out to the store. I stopped in place, as it was pitch-black. In seconds the lights came back on. This happened about 7-8 times while I tried to shop for F-I-L clothes...and the A/C was not working at all! I got his shopping completed and returned the items to him, only to run into Tom and Swan as they went to take F-I-L a radio. The road to the rehab center is being widened and resurfaced. The first time I went, there were about 1/2 of the orange barrels decorating the road. In less than 30 mins., there was only 1 barrel in the middle of the entire road, freshly laid sod was rolling across the street and parking lot, and a porta-potty was laying on it's side....ICK!

There was news all day and reports about all of the damage. When we all returned home, we were greeted by our neighboring condo roofs "waving" at us. Lots of roof damage here. And I encountered a neighbor walking around with a 6ft x 2ft shutter in his hands, trying to find it's home. The temperature dropped 20 degrees in less than 1 hour.

Later in the evening, we ran flash lights to F-I-L and when we got home I called my Mom, who is about 30 miles north of us. She had no power, no radio, no batteries for the dead flashlight, and was reading a book by 3 candles. She had locked herself in for the night, which she doesn't always do at 9pm, because she was a bit spooked. I gathered flashlights, batteries, and a radio and headed north. Trees down everywhere, branches and leaves danced in my headlights. Every once in a while, I would come across a pocket of humanity with lights....and then it was pitch black in a second. Everybody and their brother was out on the roads. It was late on a Sunday night, and usually the roads are pretty quiet on my Mom-runs, but EVERYONE was out last night..... driving as if they were out for a stroll.... 15-30 MPH UNDER the speed limit. But, I got to Mom and got eyes on her. Gave her the stash and got back on the road to get home.

By the time I got back, the list of schools and businesses that were to be closed Monday, was growing. This morning, I called my office to find the building without power, so I am off. Tom closed his agency last night, so he is off. Swan's school is the ONLY school open, but on a 90 minute delay, so she headed off to her kiddos.

The power company says it could be up to a week to restore all the lost power and restore the lines. F-I-L called and he has a phone but still no power. Tom's only meeting was finally cancelled. I have swept the patios and restored furniture and decor to it's rightly places.

And as Swan was getting ready to leave, a heron came to the pond. Guess he just wanted to make sure all was well in Heron-land..... and it is.

Hope all of you are safe, well and secure.
T