Farewell Isaac

A couple of days ago I mentioned the arrival of Hurricane Isaac, a Category 1 Storm that was in no hurry to get out of here.  Below is the slow path he took through the Bayou State:



We were very fortunate and saw only Tropical Storm force winds and rain.  This afternoon when I asked Russ and Benjamin how much rain we got, Benjamin said, "6 inches and 6 tadpoles."  He had filled the rain gauge with tadpoles from the water trough.  In reality, we only got one inch of rain.



Raining cats and dogs and tadpoles

College classes were cancelled for 3 days due to the storm and as a result, Laura got to come home and we had the entire family together again for a few days.  The only bad thing for her is that in order to make up those days, they have to forgo their fall break and go to classes on a Saturday.  The boys were out of school too.  This afternoon when I returned, they had picked up a lot of the fallen branches in the yard and built up the burn pile to new heights.

Tricia took the opportunity during the stormy weather to make a big pot of beef stew and use the pressure cooker to can 7 wide mouth quart jars to build up our inventory of canned goods in the pantry.  We ate a bunch of it that wouldn't fit in the jars.  Good stuff!


This puts Dinty Moore to shame

We've had repeated problems with our roof over the last 11 years.  I think the shingles were fastened down with bubble gum instead of roofing tacks.  I watched with dismay as the shingles blew off the roof during the gusting wind.  First on the east side:


Flippity flop



Then, not to be left out, the west side:


Flop, Flop

I'll have to get those replaced.  The roof is way too steep for me to get on top of, so I'll call a roofer.  But this is minor damage.  We're so blessed compared to many who lost their homes in Southeast Louisiana.  We pray for those who suffered losses in the storm.  We also think about the farmers who worked long hours before Isaac's arrival to harvest the rice still in the field and those farmers who have soybeans in standing water, with their crops and as a result, their livelihood at risk. 

In addition to shingles falling to the ground, there were critters falling from the sky as well!  Benjamin and Russ found a baby squirrel that had been blown out of his nest and was on the ground and would have died.  The boys adopted him, named the little fellow Tucker, and are feeding him Daisy's milk from a dropper.  Our neighbor found a baby squirrel just like this about 5 years ago that fell out of his nest in a tree during a storm.  He named her Stormy and raised it from a baby.  It was the darnedest thing.  You'd go next door and Mr. Bill could call Stormy girl down out of the tree and she'd eat pecans off of his shoulder!

Here are a few shots of the newest member of our family, Tucker, the baby squirrel:


Let sleepin' squirrels lie.



A real handful



Benjamin and his new friend, Tucker

As the remnants of Isaac leave the area, we give thanks for our safety.  We put the focus on preparing for the onslaught of the storm aside and can now start preparing for putting in the fall garden as soon as the ground dries out.  We'll be talking about that in the upcoming days.