Disasters & Volunteers - Photos

Hurricane Harvey volunteers

Hurricane Harvey

Hurricane Harvey evacuees

St Maarten after Hurricane Irma

Canadian aid workers heading for St Maarten

My best friend's back yard in Fort Pierce, FL this morning

Key Largo after Irma

Key Largo after Irma

Jacksonville, FL before Irma

Jacksonville, FL during Irma

University of Florida in Gainesville

Fort Lauderdale hotel parking lot

This and That

At first I couldn't figure out why I had awoken this morning - then I realized that the apartment building was swaying, thanks to heavy winds.  There were several huge gusts, and then I saw all the lights go out (I keep my blinds/curtains open at night).  I got up and turned my computer off, even though it's power light was on (this was at 2:05).  The recycling fan was still on in the bathroom, too.  I went back to sleep and awoke at 4:10, with more building movement in the high winds, and realizing that the apartment had absolutely no sounds.  Surprisingly, my landline telephone was working, so I called in the power outage and was told that a wire had come down at 2:10.  They thought power would be restored at 6.  The phone went dead as I was thanking the company representative.   The power was restored, including the phone, internet and television at 6:50.  The power went off again at 7:45.  This time I called the power company using my cell phone, and was told a transformer had just blown - power should be back on around 11.  I had toasted waffles when I first got up.  Beatrice hadn't yet made coffee, nor fixed her breakfast, when the power went out again.  She headed down the street in search of an open restaurant, where she finally got breakfast.
  In the meantime, I wrote out postcards to send to the White House and to a Colorado congressman whom I dislike.  I don't write anything that is threatening, but I admit that some of it is mean-spirited. My cards to the White House say "Attn: President" on the front, but on the back read: "To:  bannon/putin/trump"   One to the circus peanut states that I understand he is upset about leaks from his office - has he had his pump-up erector set checked for nano-transmitters?  I send two postcards a day, and have about 30 written so far, as well as stamped....
   The high winds I spoke of earlier are gusting between 40 and 103 mph.  The winds at 2 and 4 this morning were measured at 93 mph.  They are not helping, in any way, a huge grass fire to our north, where hundreds of people have been evacuated since the early morning hours.  The land there is broken and irregular, with a combination of agricultural fields, pastureland for cattle, horses and llamas, and many creeks and arroyos at the foot of the Rockies.  So far, according to reports, no lives have been lost, and livestock is being sheltered at the County Fairgrounds.  There are two fires burning, and each has covered hundreds of acres.  The winds are supposed to die down tonight, and rain is also forecast for tonight.  Let it be soon, for all the critters!
   I rejoiced last night when the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals voted 3 to 0 in favor of keeping the circus peanut's executive order against immigration and travel stopped.  I laughed when the orange idiot tweeted; "See you in court..." in all capital letters.  I had an even bigger laugh when it was announced that the tangerine tyrant had had Cory Louie, his cyber security chief, escorted from the White House...  because that happened several days ago!  The itinerant idjit has been without a chief of cyber security for almost a week!  And he was always screaming about HC's use of her personal computer - his telephone, or whatever he tweets from, is totally insecure...   Sad.  So sad.

A Windy, Smoky Saturday

Yesterday it got pretty windy in the afternoon and evening...  I enjoyed my time with my kits yesterday, and had a ball with Tessa and the kits at Lynn's.  This morning, after watering the garden, I helped myself to a handful of fresh, ripe strawberries from the strawberry patch - golly, they were sweet!  The tomato plants are producing blooms, and the carrots are sprouting, as are the asparagus plants.  I would love to take Lovey and Nedi with me back to the house, but it will upset Lily too much.  The other kits and Tessa welcome my kits, but Lily is the queen of the house, and she dislikes change of any kind.  Lovey and Nedi are outside in the sun, running around and chasing each other like maniacs.  With the Bolder Boulder tomorrow, I'll come back and visit them again tonight, and then come back tomorrow afternoon.  The kits won't be thrilled, but I think that's the best option, and I've already told my buddies at Safeway that they will not see me in the morning.
   I've read two of the seven books I got at the library the other day, and am half-way through the third.  The air around here yesterday was terrible - the fire up in Poudre Canyon is now out, but we got the smoke from the wildfire in New Mexico that has burnt over 130 square miles.  We, of course, are under a fire and fireworks ban - and there's a fire on the west side of the mountains (the Paradox fire), that has burnt 3,000 acres in Colorado near the Utah border.  It looks pretty and clear outside this morning, while it was extremely hazy yesterday. I can still smell smoke in my apartment, this morning.
   I had to do a double-take and then read an article today - it was about an incident in Miami, Florida.  A woman driving across a causeway from Miami Beach Beach back to Miami, saw two men "fighting" alongside an exit ramp near the Miami Herald building.  One man was naked and was chewing on the face of the other, clothed, man.  Police arrived, and ordered the naked man to stop chewing, or eating, the other man's face.  The other man was screaming and struggling.  The naked man did not cease and desist, even after he had been shot twice.  Reports say that the policeman put at least 6 bullets into the naked man before he died - still chewing on the other man's face.  The victim of the attack was taken to a hospital and is in critical condition, having had "almost half of his face eaten" by the naked assailant.  Now I remember why I try to avoid Miami, when I visit Florida....
  

Oh, My!

I stayed awake reading a book until 2 this morning.  Then I awoke at 6, at usual.  I fed the kits, cleaned the litter boxes, and checked my e-mail.  Then I wandered down the corridor to the north to walk over to the bakery and get a fresh bagel.  Taped across the door was a large sign that read, "Please use main doors!"  I peeked out the small window beside the door, and had to do a double-take.  The electric power line and cable line was lying on the ground just outside the door; and the large cottonwood tree that has housed at least three squirrel nests was in pieces, on the ground.  Yikes!  I don't even know when the tree came down - yesterday afternoon, last night, or this morning.  I'd heard several loud thumps during our windy hours, but I had no idea the old tree had fallen, nor that the branches had taken out the power line, causing the power pole to snap and crash, too.  ....  The squirrels who lived in the tree seem to be at a loss, and I can understand that.  I have put out extra nuts for the little guys on the patio, and I'm certain they will avail themselves of it.  I just wish I could also put up some  replacement housing for them!

Looking at Folsom Field and the Flatirons from the main doors of my apartment this morning

The base of the tree trunk, and a now-homeless squirrel

The remnants of the lowest hollow in the tree, at a height of about 5 1/2 feet, which contained a squirrels nest

The broken power and cable pole at the north door of the apartment building

The tree top and the top of the power pole outside the north door

The electric and TV cables ripped from the north end of the building (and my reflection in the window)

Windy Saturday

I probably won't leave my apartment building tomorrow.  We have a low front coming in the northwest,  and are expecting sustained winds of 60 to 70 mph, along with gusts up to 90 or 100 mph.  -  I think I'll keep the kits inside, too.  Tomorrow is the last at home football game for the CU Buffs - I'll have to see how the winds swirl in the stadium during the game!  (The high wind warning begins at midnight tonight and ends at 6 p.m. Saturday.)  Blizzard warnings and road closures are already predicted for the mountains above 9,000 feet. - Winter is coming!

A Chinook That Makes Me Happy - But Spreads a Fire

What a difference a day makes! Last night, the temperatures continued to rise; it's now 46 degrees outside and we have a 20-mph Chinook wind blowing from the west. If this continues for the next few days, I just might be able to see some grass in my back yard! Chinook is claimed by popular mythology to mean "eater" or "snow eater" but it is really the name of the people in the region where the usage was first derived. The reference to a wind or weather system, simply "a Chinook", originally meaning a warming wind from the ocean into the interior regions of the Pacific Northwest. A strong Chinook can make snow one foot deep almost vanish in one day. The snow partly melts and partly evaporates in the dry wind. The Chinook are a Native American tribe, who originally lived along the banks of the Columbia River near the coast of Oregon. - And we had three fire departments respond to a wildfire this morning. Thanks to the Chinook, the fire spread from treetop to treetop, and covered about an acre, before the Nederland, Sugarloaf, and FourMile Canyon firefighters got it under control. It started in a pile of slash and brush at the edge of the Peewink Mountain fire, close to the edge of the FourMile Canyon fire. Luckily, no homes were nearby, and no evacuations occurred.
Rosie, Remy and I had a super walk yesterday, and had a good time playing with Suki and Boo. Mona stayed in the house and barked at us. I also walked Lucy and Tessa, and spent several hours with Ooch. He sat on my tummy with his front legs reaching toward my face; occasionally he would gently pat my cheek with his paw, and I, in turn, would scratch his chin and jaw line. We had a very nice quiet time. My kits ran in and out yesterday evening. They wanted to be outside, but with the snow still so deep, they also wanted to be inside where it was warmer. Warmer finally won out.
Mr. Livingston, a very nice stallion, who had been standing stud at Bridlewood Farm, was recently moved to a farm in Louisiana. On January 9, he died in a paddock accident. ... Awesome Feather, last year's winner of the Breeder's Cup 2-year-old Fillies race (and winner of all 6 of her races), was sold in November to Frank Stronach's racing stable for $2.3 million. She has now developed "a tendon issue" and it is not known when she will resume training. ... TVG network will cover the January 17 Eclipse Awards dinner and presentation from Miami, Florida.