In the cover photo you can see some of the awful damage Irma dealt my yard. Note the wildflower to the left that got bent over by a twig. Liatris gholsonii is by far my favorite wildflower and here comes Hurricane Irma right as they bloom.
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September 2017
Yeah I ran. On Sunday morning Irma was projected as a Cat 2 hurricane storming off the Gulf of Mexico and hitting Tallahassee Monday. The wind and rain would start Sunday afternoon so there wasn’t much time to decide if I was going to leave town. Go, yes, I live in a mobile home surrounded by big trees. Winds to 30 MPH are certain, higher if Irma tracks to the west over very warm water. Maybe a tree crashes in or a tornado shreds this place into a million pieces all over Gadsden County.
After an hour of loading a few things I couldn't part with, I was going north out of Florida. US-27, a 4-lane divided highway thru west Georgia, is my best escape. Better to get out in front of traffic if things got worse and Monday would be too late. As it was, bands of rain on the leading edge and gusts over 20 mph chased me thru south Georgia.
Bainbridge is just over the border and it’s a gasoline distribution point with tanker trucks covering the whole region and into Florida. And at $2.45 Bainbridge also had the cheapest gas I would see till Virginia. Going north, the stations were busy, the small town motels were full for the first time ever, and traffic was slightly higher but not at all like the nightmare on I-75. I saw 7-8 cars while bypassing Lumpkin instead of 1 or 2 — an easy trip once I got past the rain.
As it goes in forecasting the unpredictable, Irma swung east, got downgraded, and over here a 100 miles west, the wind and rain was nothing like what could have been.
This Mistflower got walloped, smashed by a 2" branch but still eager to flower.
Local review of Irma by the NWS in Tallahassee. Peak gust was 55 mph at wide-open airport.
Farther into the woods, this Liatris has been growing taller all summer. Many a day I walked around to check its development, even propped it in place with a stick. Too bad it got beat down into the bare trail and most the leaves tore off but it may squeak out a flower yet.
Another Liatris that would have been 5' tall but now has a right-angle crook halfway. Still flowering tho, and that dead 20’ long branch is the biggest that came down Monday.
Nearby is my mystery plant of the summer. It was also head-high. The flower has yet to develop but any day now... By the way, I'm facing west mostly so the plants pictured are leaning to the south. Irma's wind was from the north and northwest. My yard is unwooded where the driveway goes up the hill to the NW so I imagined the winds funneling down into me — another reason to leave.
Also nearby is a Chrysopsis not yet flowering - look at the upper left where the sideways stem has new growth pointing up. Doesn't take long for plants to adjust.
Some of you may remember in comments before the storm that I posted the over/under at 2 for the number of Water Oaks that fall. Water Oaks are notorious for falling in a breeze or losing their top. My reasoning was that Hermione had taken out a few of the weakest last year. If you had bet under, you win!
And finally up the hill to the open NW corner where my meadow got the brunt of the wind. The tall Goldenrod suffered the most, some near flat, but of course they will still flower.
Storm-related: The beaver dam at the bottom of the hill was rebuilt while I was gone. Irma brought a foot of water. Here’s a photo the day before I left - the dam of mud, grass & sticks is higher now.
There were a few pine branches down and bunches of twigs and small branches. Lots of Hickory nuts came flying all thru the yard and some landed on the deck. Mostly the woods got a nice trim. Expecting the worst, I spent 2 days prepping my house & yard and securing things like the kayak hanging in the polebarn or the dozens of walking sticks. My neighbor to the north did nothing to prepare, lives in an RV under a metal garage, has a 2nd RV just sitting out, and a cargo trailer, and more junk that one needs. But for 60 miles, I’da been the smart one running …
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