Flossie, we hardly knew ya

The hurricane missed us with hardly a gust of wind, and then quickly degraded into a tropical storm. The trailing clouds are dropping a gentle rain now, but we are all breathing easy again.

Now up on the horizon is a tsunami advisory from the 7.9 earthquake in Peru.

This is not an island for the fainthearted.

Flossie, still waiting...

Waiting for a hurricane that is stalled offshore is like waiting for the dentist. Nothing but dread and impatience and the desire to get on with it already!

Hurricane Flossie was due mid-day and 8 hours later she hasn't arrived. Never believe the weathermen. Now that all preparations are complete, we are left twiddling our thumbs. So, what's a farmgirl to do but surf the web and look at Youtube video of the last Typhoon I weathered. That shrieking noise in the background....wind.

Keep praying for us, it seems to be working.

Hurricane Flossie, Part 1

We're battening down the hatches here as Hurricane Flossie is swinging our way. We're sure to get smacked pretty hard by wind and rain tomorrow.

The National Weather Service says...

THE CURRENT FORECAST BRINGS EAST TO SOUTHEAST WINDS OF 40 TO 50
MPH WITH GUSTS TO 60 MPH TO THE SOUTHERN BIG ISLAND BY NOON
TUESDAY. WINDS OF THESE INTENSITIES WILL CAUSE DAMAGE TO LIGHT
STRUCTURES AND TREES.

HOWEVER...IF THE TRACK OF FLOSSIE SHIFTS NORTHWARD...HURRICANE FORCE
WINDS OF 74 MPH OR GREATER COULD AFFECT SOME AREAS OF THE SOUTHERN
BIG ISLAND TUESDAY WITH MUCH GREATER DAMAGE POTENTIAL.

Ahhh damn. I remember how this works. I used to live on Guam and have ridden out my share of Supertyphoons and tropical storms. It's the "or greater" in the forecast that always comes back to bite you.

Preparing the farm was an all day job. Dozens of tools had to be stored away, rolling roofs locked down and light objects stashed. Laundry has to be caught up on and cars gassed up. This may all seem overboard, but having gone 6 days without gasoline, 17 days without water, 40 days without power and 6 months without cable after one storm on Guam, I'm not taking chances here.

I'm still not close to ready. This is a 60 year old farm with buildings that are sketchy at best. And the new house has yet to weather a storm so I'm not sure where the trouble spots are going to pop up. Keep your thoughts positive for all of us.

Oh yeah, and cross your fingers for the trees. We started picking coffee last week and there is a lot of ripe beans that will take the brunt of the wind.