Well Wednesday was one of the wettest days with strong winds we've seen here in Florida in years. Hurricane Eta came through and luckily she had down graded to a tropical storm because the damage would have been awful. The rain blew sideways and at times I thought the roof was going to go but it held thankfully and thus far saw no leaks. The gutters spilled over onto the bump out window seat which ran like a river but no water inside. I did try to clean them out during a moment when the rain ceased somewhat but to no avail as the wind and rain were just too much for the gutter.
It was the only time I ventured out during the day as the wind and rain never stopped. We could feel the strength of the feeder bands of the storm at times as it reached land. Noises on the roof area where branches and what ever struck during the evening hours was freaky which lasted for hours as the slow moving storm made land fall. The streets were like a river as the yards drained into it. It has now moved inward and northward across the state. There are streets and subdivisions flooded and the neighbors behind and next to us are with out power as their transformer made a loud bang around 8'ish. Luckily our power stayed on except for a couple of flickers through out the evening.
It's been awhile since anything like this storm has struck the west coast of Florida and it was down graded to a storm but still had wind gusts of 70 mph. Yikes. Its been a year of rain for us as we had so much this summer and fall in the mountains and now here in Florida. We needed rain but just not delivered with high winds and so much at one time. I'm sure all of my seedlings have drowned or been washed out but thats a small price to pay when your house could have been destroyed by this storm.
There really isn't much to write about except our morning routines, quiet times and what we ate for the day. All seem well with our families and all are safe from the storm. Of course Gabe's game was rained out so we didn't make the trip to Brandon and since it was Veteran's Day the Rec. was closed. I got lots of well wishes from friends regarding my 7 years in the USAF during the Viet Nam era. A few of my flying buddies are still kicking but many have passed due to issues from that era and the cargo we carried as well as to what we were exposed to on the ground. That was over 50 + years ago when I volunteered for the USAF in 1966. I was 19 when I enlisted in March of that year and gave it no thought as to the dangers I would encounter throughout my 7 years of flying into a war zone. What an experience to say the least as I along with many young men and women gave our lives for this country. So many names on the Wall in D.C. who made that ultimate sacrifice and yet today we have youths who are so privileged and spoilt they want to burn, loot and maim those of us who gave them the right to do so, Unbelievable, LATER
