Hurricane Florence.
This morning we are waiting for Hurricane Florence to make her landfall somewhere on the Carolina coast. Two days ago we were told our area would fall in the "catastrophic" category, but yesterday morning the models shifted the storm further south. It is a relief that our home and camp on the river will probably not endure the brunt of the storm, but it is still not good news for the people in the southern parts of our area.
Even if we had not watched non-stop hurricane reports, I would know there was one on the horizon because I woke up with a splitting headache this morning. Changes in the barometric pressure have always messed with our heads in my family, so I knew with all certainty that today was the day of hurricane landfall.
Today was the first day "off" in a few weeks that I haven't had to get up early for a run and I was looking forward to actually sleeping in a little, but the headache had other ideas. I woke up a few times during the night and put myself back to sleep by repeating the mantra "just enjoy the AC while you still have power"--but at 5:55am I knew I needed to get up and get some coffee.
We have a lovely pond in my backyard, and I could see the turtles and the muskrat making their rounds in the water. Yesterday the hawks were screeching all afternoon in preparation for the impending storm as we packed up our deck furniture and lawn items. It was a hot and humid day in eastern NC.
It's eerily quiet around our town. Many businesses were closed and boarded up, and no one was out and about on the waterfront when I went for a run yesterday morning. I usually run into the same fisherman and fellow runners along my routes, but they were no where to be seen. The waters were rising at the local playground, and the community boat launch was empty as the parking lot began to flood.
We've packed up the camp and are ready for the storm. We've got our snacks and candles and solar chargers and a generator. I've washed all the clothes and sheets, and this morning I plan to run through the house with the vacuum. It's going to be a long weekend (even longer if we lose power), but I'm thankful it's looking like we're going to be spared from the worst of things.
Even if we had not watched non-stop hurricane reports, I would know there was one on the horizon because I woke up with a splitting headache this morning. Changes in the barometric pressure have always messed with our heads in my family, so I knew with all certainty that today was the day of hurricane landfall.
Today was the first day "off" in a few weeks that I haven't had to get up early for a run and I was looking forward to actually sleeping in a little, but the headache had other ideas. I woke up a few times during the night and put myself back to sleep by repeating the mantra "just enjoy the AC while you still have power"--but at 5:55am I knew I needed to get up and get some coffee.
We have a lovely pond in my backyard, and I could see the turtles and the muskrat making their rounds in the water. Yesterday the hawks were screeching all afternoon in preparation for the impending storm as we packed up our deck furniture and lawn items. It was a hot and humid day in eastern NC.
It's eerily quiet around our town. Many businesses were closed and boarded up, and no one was out and about on the waterfront when I went for a run yesterday morning. I usually run into the same fisherman and fellow runners along my routes, but they were no where to be seen. The waters were rising at the local playground, and the community boat launch was empty as the parking lot began to flood.
We've packed up the camp and are ready for the storm. We've got our snacks and candles and solar chargers and a generator. I've washed all the clothes and sheets, and this morning I plan to run through the house with the vacuum. It's going to be a long weekend (even longer if we lose power), but I'm thankful it's looking like we're going to be spared from the worst of things.
Hang in there, Carolina folks.
