We're Back! Again - Safe and Secure

First, Hurricane Laura.  Next, Hurricane Delta.  Two powerful storms coming ashore 12 miles apart from one another such a short time apart.  Really quite amazing when you think about it.  We are safe and sound.  Another stint of no power, but a friend let us borrow a generator.  At night we would turn it on to power our refrigerator, a deep freeze, and an oscillating fan so that we could sleep comfortably.  Electricity came back on for us a little quicker than it did for Laura.  Our neighbors still don't have power.  Our hats go out to all the linemen working so hard to restore power.

We weathered the storm in our home.  Tricia, Russ, Benjamin and I rode it out and prayed.  The electricity went out at about 6pm.  This time the storm passed in daylight hours and you could see the ravaging winds.  It was better to SEE instead of just hear what was going on.  We prayed for the storm to pass through quickly.  The Weather Channel was here in our small town.

Russ had a large tree fall on top of his house in the last storm and had a blue tarp on his roof when this one came through.  I could tell he was worried.  When the eye was above us, it became very still and quiet.  We quickly went to the truck and decided to try to make the 10 minute drive to check on his home while still in the eye before the back end of the storm hit us.  We left and had to turn around because of downed powerlines and poles blocking the highway.

We turned around and drove through high water to find another open route to his home.  We ALMOST made it before things got rough again.  We were glad to make it to shelter in his home for the last part of the storm.  We re-positioned buckets in his house to catch rainwater falling into three rooms in his house.  The next day we put a new tarp up on the roof.  

For several days, we cooked on a Coleman stove you can see on the patio table above.  We also ate some MRE's and food donated by some gracious ministries distributing aid around our town.  Samaritan's Purse was here in Jennings along with many other fine folks, helping in peoples' time of need.  All in all, even though Delta zeroed in on us in Jennings, we felt like the winds were stronger in Laura.

We had no damage to our home once again.  Praise God!  When this storm was coming in, I remarked to my wife that we probably wouldn't have any limbs down since Laura had "pruned" the weak limbs, leaving only the strong.  My theory proved to be incorrect.  We had quite a few limbs down, though not as much as in the first storm.  The entire yard had broken branches strewn about, and it took the better part of a day to drag them all to the pasture.

The cows and goats took full advantage of the buffet of fresh live oak leaves we placed before them!  They quickly devoured and defoliated the branches while we drug new branches in like the next course to a meal.  

Here they are in action from a different angle.  We will have a nice bonfire once things dry out a bit.

The next morning I had to drive in to work to check on the facility.  There were countless 18 wheelers and campers turned on their sides on I-10, including four 18 wheelers turned over on the Calcasieu River Bridge in Lake Charles.  Though out of power, things were okay at work.

Our neighbors called and checked on us during the storm.  They had windows that were being busted out of the frames to their patio by the strong easterly winds.  We talked to them more after the storm.  They took some serious damage to their barn, losing a total of 230 month-old chicks they were rasing to the storm!  Although there was lots of damage, people are safe.  People are thankful that the damage wasn't worse than it was.  People are thankful to have their families, friends and neighbors out of harm's way.  God is good!  Thanks for your prayers and concern.  We will be back Sunday night.