Seeing that pig on the loveseat, I began to wonder if the whole downstairs smells like wet pig. (Because I have dogs, and eau de wet dog certainly would.). Then I wondered what wet pig smells like. Not lavender scented candles, I bet. Can you explain?
I was on vacation in the path of the storm. All we wanted was to get home to Wisconsin. We spent a day and a half in a hotel without power or water and very little to eat. We also waited in a crazy line to get gas and eventually managed to escape the city and get a new flight from another city's airport. Not that we took a direct route since there were very few roads open but somehow with no idea where we were going, we managed it. I'll take the winter snow here because Hurricanes are much worse.
What an ordeal! Peter has shared some more details about his saga, and it was similar to yours. There have been hurricanes there before, but nobody expected once-in-a-lifetime flooding like this. I'm glad you made it out okay.
From WNC, 20 minutes from Asheville, NC thanks for the laugh. I wasn’t sure I was going to want to, but it was a bright spot in an otherwise wise lousy week!
I hope you are doing okay in your area. We are in SW Virginia and had a lot of rain and wind. One our rivers overflowed its banks, which hasn’t happened since 1940. Luckily, I don’t live near it but some of my friends have a cabin on the river and it is on stilts. They still got three feet of water in the house.
I think you wouldn't make Peter's story more about yourself than I'm making yours through my comments. But since I have no idea how else to express my thoughts, I'd say it's a bit likewise in my country, although on smaller scale than a hurricane. In recent weeks there were strong rains pouring in my place, but these showers were nothing compared to what happened in other regions of the country hit by our leg of European floods. What in my part of Lesser Poland was simply helping to water gardens and fields, in Lower Silesia and most of the Oder River Basin became devastating element that destroyed thousands of houses and properties, ripped off Bridges or dams and brought tonns of debris everywhere, in biggest size since 1997. Seeing the scale of damage on the evening TV news each day for the past few weeks was sorrowing. But the spirit of National unity and politicians leaving arguments aside and rushing to help preventing or cleaning after the water passing, as well as thousands of fundraising and supplies donations (to some of which I contributed what I could afford) was very heartwarming. Most praise however went to well deserving it true heroes - battling the flood and its repercussions service men and women of firefighters, police and military, especially the Territorial Defence Force, which had the unit my friend Paweł is serving in, deployed on site to reinforce the local forces.
It's good that everyone banded to together to help with the rescue effort. I hope we see similar unity here. The destructive power of water is incredible. It is not to be underestimated.
I know you love your pigs - and Onyx does look sweet napping on the sofa - but I could not endure the hole digging and grass destruction, much less the manure. (Tho my grass is nothing to brag about as I’m perpetually trying to start a wildflower meadow without actually taking any preparatory steps other than casting seeds.)
In the NC Piedmont we had only rain from Helene, tho there was a tornado not far northwest of us. The tornado warning was disconcerting. I’m used to snow warnings in which the threat approaches at a steady pace. If you decide it’s safe to venture out and then it isn’t you just turn around and go home.
Tornados are a whole nother thing, especially for a person who has vowed never to spend more than 5 minutes in the basement of this house. Just call me Dorothy. When I said that to one of my mother’s friends she made me promise to get Mom down to the basement before sailing off to Oz with the rest of the house. I can do that but am grateful I didn’t have to.
We're the opposite here. Hurricane effects are rare, but tornado warnings are common. We have a regular tornado siren those goes off for testing each week all summer. In America, you have to pick which disasters you're willing to put up with. No place gets off the hook completely.
And I suppose, in an odd way, that’s one of the wonderful things about America. We are wonderfully, if sometimes catastrophically, diverse. And we get to CHOOSE*!
*Just a little shout-out there for VOTING on 11/5!
One of the best sentences ever: “I have to pay to feed them [the pigs] because they’re family.”
Glad that the hurricane didn’t do much damage in Indiana. Can you imagine the pigs in a rubber rescue dinghy? Those photos of North Carolina underwater are something to behold (best from afar). I hope the government will send them help to clean up and rebuild.
We have friends that live right on the Ohio river in southern Indiana…I should probably check on them! They call us when we have our lovely California fires…I didn’t realize that hurricane was felt that far north…glad all is well with your friends and your family.
We were on the very mild end of the effects, thankfully. I feel bad for those who bore the brunt of it. They'll have some harrowing tales to tell when this is all in the rearview mirror.
Our main staircase isn't baby gate compatible. At least not for the ones that anchor into posts. We could set up one of those segmented, free-standing ones around the base, but without weight behind it, it wouldn't do any good. This might be a case where I have to actually enforce discipline on the pigs. Wish me luck.
It's ugly black grackles at the birdfeeders that MrP chases away constantly. I think they are playing a game with him because they are never deterred. And since I just read they can live up to 22 years, I think they will be around until there is no one to put seed in the feeders.
Our daughter and husband moved to a town on the eastern Florida coast in June so Helene was their first experience with hurricane anticipation. Welcome to Florida!
I'd rather take my chances with tornadoes than hurricanes, but my first choice would be neither. Why can't the wind just chill? As for the bird seed, if it wasn't the grackles, it would be the squirrels. It seems no bird feeder is safe.
Seeing that pig on the loveseat, I began to wonder if the whole downstairs smells like wet pig. (Because I have dogs, and eau de wet dog certainly would.). Then I wondered what wet pig smells like. Not lavender scented candles, I bet. Can you explain?
They do have a distinct, earthy smell when wet. They don't get wet too often, though. They mostly cower inside when it rains.
I was on vacation in the path of the storm. All we wanted was to get home to Wisconsin. We spent a day and a half in a hotel without power or water and very little to eat. We also waited in a crazy line to get gas and eventually managed to escape the city and get a new flight from another city's airport. Not that we took a direct route since there were very few roads open but somehow with no idea where we were going, we managed it. I'll take the winter snow here because Hurricanes are much worse.
What an ordeal! Peter has shared some more details about his saga, and it was similar to yours. There have been hurricanes there before, but nobody expected once-in-a-lifetime flooding like this. I'm glad you made it out okay.
From WNC, 20 minutes from Asheville, NC thanks for the laugh. I wasn’t sure I was going to want to, but it was a bright spot in an otherwise wise lousy week!
Good luck with everything! I hope things get back up and running soon.
I hope you are doing okay in your area. We are in SW Virginia and had a lot of rain and wind. One our rivers overflowed its banks, which hasn’t happened since 1940. Luckily, I don’t live near it but some of my friends have a cabin on the river and it is on stilts. They still got three feet of water in the house.
I think you wouldn't make Peter's story more about yourself than I'm making yours through my comments. But since I have no idea how else to express my thoughts, I'd say it's a bit likewise in my country, although on smaller scale than a hurricane. In recent weeks there were strong rains pouring in my place, but these showers were nothing compared to what happened in other regions of the country hit by our leg of European floods. What in my part of Lesser Poland was simply helping to water gardens and fields, in Lower Silesia and most of the Oder River Basin became devastating element that destroyed thousands of houses and properties, ripped off Bridges or dams and brought tonns of debris everywhere, in biggest size since 1997. Seeing the scale of damage on the evening TV news each day for the past few weeks was sorrowing. But the spirit of National unity and politicians leaving arguments aside and rushing to help preventing or cleaning after the water passing, as well as thousands of fundraising and supplies donations (to some of which I contributed what I could afford) was very heartwarming. Most praise however went to well deserving it true heroes - battling the flood and its repercussions service men and women of firefighters, police and military, especially the Territorial Defence Force, which had the unit my friend Paweł is serving in, deployed on site to reinforce the local forces.
It's good that everyone banded to together to help with the rescue effort. I hope we see similar unity here. The destructive power of water is incredible. It is not to be underestimated.
I know you love your pigs - and Onyx does look sweet napping on the sofa - but I could not endure the hole digging and grass destruction, much less the manure. (Tho my grass is nothing to brag about as I’m perpetually trying to start a wildflower meadow without actually taking any preparatory steps other than casting seeds.)
In the NC Piedmont we had only rain from Helene, tho there was a tornado not far northwest of us. The tornado warning was disconcerting. I’m used to snow warnings in which the threat approaches at a steady pace. If you decide it’s safe to venture out and then it isn’t you just turn around and go home.
Tornados are a whole nother thing, especially for a person who has vowed never to spend more than 5 minutes in the basement of this house. Just call me Dorothy. When I said that to one of my mother’s friends she made me promise to get Mom down to the basement before sailing off to Oz with the rest of the house. I can do that but am grateful I didn’t have to.
We're the opposite here. Hurricane effects are rare, but tornado warnings are common. We have a regular tornado siren those goes off for testing each week all summer. In America, you have to pick which disasters you're willing to put up with. No place gets off the hook completely.
And I suppose, in an odd way, that’s one of the wonderful things about America. We are wonderfully, if sometimes catastrophically, diverse. And we get to CHOOSE*!
*Just a little shout-out there for VOTING on 11/5!
Sounds like you need one of those concrete Jersey barriers across your staircase... 🤔
Not a bad idea. If only I could find a contractor who would show up.
That is one tough skeleton - hurricane tested!
One of the best sentences ever: “I have to pay to feed them [the pigs] because they’re family.”
Glad that the hurricane didn’t do much damage in Indiana. Can you imagine the pigs in a rubber rescue dinghy? Those photos of North Carolina underwater are something to behold (best from afar). I hope the government will send them help to clean up and rebuild.
The scale of destruction out there is incredible. We really did get off easy in the Midwest. Here's hoping for a speeding recovery out east.
We have friends that live right on the Ohio river in southern Indiana…I should probably check on them! They call us when we have our lovely California fires…I didn’t realize that hurricane was felt that far north…glad all is well with your friends and your family.
We were on the very mild end of the effects, thankfully. I feel bad for those who bore the brunt of it. They'll have some harrowing tales to tell when this is all in the rearview mirror.
Have you gotten rid of all the baby gates? It might be harder for the pigs to get through going up sails than on one level.
P.S. Onyx is one cute sleeping pig!
Our main staircase isn't baby gate compatible. At least not for the ones that anchor into posts. We could set up one of those segmented, free-standing ones around the base, but without weight behind it, it wouldn't do any good. This might be a case where I have to actually enforce discipline on the pigs. Wish me luck.
It's ugly black grackles at the birdfeeders that MrP chases away constantly. I think they are playing a game with him because they are never deterred. And since I just read they can live up to 22 years, I think they will be around until there is no one to put seed in the feeders.
Our daughter and husband moved to a town on the eastern Florida coast in June so Helene was their first experience with hurricane anticipation. Welcome to Florida!
I'd rather take my chances with tornadoes than hurricanes, but my first choice would be neither. Why can't the wind just chill? As for the bird seed, if it wasn't the grackles, it would be the squirrels. It seems no bird feeder is safe.