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Summer's adieu

Not according to the calendar, but there is something about Labor Day weekend that makes it feel as though summer is making its exit out the back door while fall is knocking on the front.  My sister and brother-in-law were over for supper last night--a summery meal of chicken Cobb salad, fresh green beans, tomatoes and corn on the cob served on the deck.  Still, it was dark by the time we got to dessert.
We had finally heard from our brother who lives in a town that was particularly hard hit by Hurricane Irene.  He lives near a mountain stream besides.  The were without electricity and the yard was flooded, but house, barn and animals were all safe.
It was very sad to ride into town the other day and see the damage that has been done.  The next town, the one where I grew up, actually, was hit hard and it seems like everything is just covered with river silt.  My husband's old shop was flooded with four feet of water.  State offices in another town were flooded and so services and emergency response abilities were affected as well.
I don't know enough of the science to understand if this is a hundred-year weather cycle or part of man-made global warming.  I do know that lots of people have asked--about our property in Florida--"Aren't you afraid of hurricanes?"  No body really ever thought to ask that about life in Vermont before.

For those who commented on my last post...I took the Lake George trip the week before the hurricane and actually was blissfully unaware of Irene's existence until we got back on the Thursday before it hit.

And I do think that they appreciated the vacation.  They are polite and thanked me during and after.  Once in a while one or the other of them would say, "You are the best grandma in the whole world."  That is thanks enough for me.

Comments

  1. I've wondered how you were doing. I'm sorry to hear about the damage your brother suffered. We have kept our eyes and ears open to what is going on out there. We care visiting Vermont later this month. Thankfully, our friends, not far from Stowe, have not suffered any damage. I glad to hear you suffered no damage at your place.

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  2. Now that September is here and time for fall weather Oregon has decided to have some summer weather. Temps will be above 90 all week so they tell us. Bummer. I hope we don't have many of those days ahead of us.

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  3. I love Vermont and hope all is restored before long. That was a strange hurricane.

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  4. I live on the Texas coast, so we are well acquainted with hurricane disasters. We visited New Orleans a few months after Katrina, and that was a heartbreaking experience. I'm so sorry that our northern neighbors have had to experience a hurricane's wrath. I'm hoping against hope that we don't have a hurricane this year because the drought has killed thousands, maybe millions, of trees. If a hurricane brings them down, it will be a disaster of terrible proportions.

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  5. My friends daughter is in Vermont and was with out power for quite a while but the property was spared. Glad you were spared also.
    Every section of the country has its weather bugaboos. When I moved to Arkansas my Florida friends said, "What about the tornedoes?" Florida actually has more tornadoes than any state besides Texas. We can only hope that no matter what hits, that we stay safe.
    Arkansas Patti

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