Heidi Chronicles: Growing Up

Here is the link I promised earlier for the raccoon playing on swing: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=-125B8LaPFQ&feature=related
and here is the one for the raccoon going down the kids slide: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=5bBMWwoFIJs&feature=related

I had a bunch of Beanie Babies too. Around the time we were moving the local care center was moving to a new space and they needed toys for the children's area they were going to have. So I donated them there. I did keep the Holiday ones though , as I do use them.

Starlight, what a sweetheart you are to offer your home to Cheryl and Widget! Bless you!
I recently finished a course of powerful antibiotics for two infected spider bites. Wow, I can't imagine several. I don't go hiking with loose-fitting clothing anymore, so I hope that helps.

LOl.. Them spider looked pretty cool in the woods we was at at the time, but have no idea what kind they was. Next time gonan carry a monster size cna of deep woods off with me and dust the body with sulfur flour. I may smell, but should be bug free.

When I was tiny, and lived way up north, we had a tonadoe destroy our trailer. A telephone pole crashed on foot from my bed. Lucky to be alive. Folks took us in then. When I live din Indiania back in the blizzard of thinkit was 79. I was stranded over 100 miles form home and only had a thin work uniform on. Was no snow when I left for work. I had no place to go and my car got stuck in a snow drift. A young boy about 9 had his snowmobile out and rescued me and took me to saftey. I had both of my feet badly frost bitten and had to have all my toe nails removed at the time and lucky I had my feet left. Would have froze to death if it wouldnt have been for that child stopping and helping a stranger. I have never forgotten them times and always will offer to help to anybody who needs it. Nothign fancy here, but the door always open to anybody who needs it.

When Opel mad ea mess of our area and did so much damage folks came and helped here. I ain't always perfect, but glad to lend a hand whenever I can and pass it forward all the times helpthere been for me in one form or another.

Cheryl.. If ya got a couple of big gas cans around. I would suggest filling them up. Gas prices always go up or stations run out of gas and if people get stranded if they cant find stations when cars have to sit in line son major roads to evacuate.

I do alot of fund raising for local batter womens shelters and other foundations and they always glad to have toys and stuff like that. Especially at Christmas. They cna be wrapped and given to kids.

Also the Ronald McDonald houses great for kids and families there to have and take. If nothign else donating them to local salvation army they go to kids and also help there programs.

Sounds like a good plan for the coons. They will probably all hide and just forage close to where they seeking shelter. They might even have a sense of time like us humans do and may not notice if they been feed or not.

Just so long as they don't get too cosy in shelters. Bene tryign to figure out if they all have bunches of kits next year how big yoru family gonan be then. Afraid to hit a possible total. LOL

Cheryl -- I'm finally getting thru all the posts. I'd love to be on the Book Request and I pulled up the tagged "Heidi Book Request" but dont know where to go from there... so i guess, put me on the list.

Off to finish reading........

Terese,

Now that I read that quote, it sounds just as clear as mud. Oops.

I put you on the list, so that is now taken care of. (If anyone else wants to be added to the list, you can just add a post here stating such and I will be happy to take care of the tagging part.)

Now, just in case you (any of you) might want to tag something else in the future, here is a [hopefully] quick [and not too convoluted] how to. First, look at the top of this page, all the way up there near the right hand corner for a tiny, yellow-beige manila folder icon. For me it is directly under the date which is on the bar under the menu tabs. We are not going to do anything with that folder icon right now, but that is the key to tagging. To tag anything, first you need to open the item you wish to tag. So if it's a photo, click on the photo to enlarge it. If it's a post, click on the [green] Post # link to the left of the post to open the post. If it's a thread, open the thread. Once you have opened the item you want to tag, look up near the right hand corner of that item/page for the manila folder icon previously discussed. Now click on the folder icon. This will take you to the page for adding tags to that item. Type the name of the tag or comma separated list of tags in the box on that page and send or select or whatever the analogous option is on that page. The resultant page should give you a list of the tags you just added plus a thank you message. The words you choose for tags can be either new words (anything you like) or existing tags (as in the case of 'heidi book request'). If you type in a new word for a tag you are adding a new tag to the database as well as tagging the item with it. If you type in an existing tag name, you are adding that tag to the item (or adding that item to the tag, however you want to view it).

Glad to see you back 'home' and happy to add you to the book list.

Cheryl, I am pretty sure I requested near the beginning of "the list" but can you just double check for me.

I got a case of the giggles sitting here tonight picturing you travelling with Widget and the raccoons....had to explain it to Shane (15 year old) and he started chuckling. Perhaps a wheelbarrel would be a good transport coming down the hotel hallway he said!

Sweet dreams,
Debbie

Ruth,

Hugo was the only major hurricane here in my lifetime and so my only such experience. Thankfully, we don't have them often; otherwise, I'm sure I'd be living somewhere else. Because hurricanes cover such a large area it is difficult for me to imagine where the animals can go to seek safety, but I'm sure they are much smarter about these things than I. There are pictures of people paddling around Charleston in boats after the storm, but given how much raccoons love water I guess that won't be a major problem for them.

Today I did some 'memory lane' research. Hugo is actually listed as a Cat 5 but was a Cat 4 when it hit Charleston. It was responsible for around 75 deaths including 30 some in SC and even deaths in NC, VA(5 I think), and 1 in NY. I believe I read that it didn't dissipate until it hit Canada. I had completely forgotten that it came perilously close to killing the guys in the recon aircraft that went in to take measurements as they do in all hurricanes. For some reason the NHC believed it was a Cat 1 (when it was well out to sea), so the plane went into the eye wall too low expecting a Cat 1 only to find themselves in the middle of a Cat 5 from which they narrowly escaped with their lives. The worst side of the storm hit in a largely unpopulated area north of Charleston, the area of Francis Marion Nat Forest where it took down acres and acres of trees. It is believed that the nat forest saw winds of 160mph and up. Hundreds if not thousands of acres of wildlife habitat was obliterated including habitat of endangered species. If the storm had come in just a little bit south of us, that would have been Charleston and the loss of [human] life and property would have been much, much greater.

Still, I know you are right that I really can't do anything for the raccoons except leave some food for them and hope for the best. I was remembering today how Heidi can never be found when there is a major electrical storm on the horizon. Bad news is that many of the others will come to dinner even when lightening is cracking all around us, so clearly they don't take their clues from Heidi. You are right that the kits are now all old enough to follow their moms. Many are even old enough to sometimes think they shouldn't have to do so.

I remember watching the aftermath of Katrina on cable news and seeing the desperate situation unfold for animals as well as people. People who went to shelters and such were not allowed to take their pets with them. When the people who stayed behind were being rescued from the rising water, many from roof tops, they were not permitted to take their pets with them either, so many people were forced to leave pets behind. Wildlife got caught up in that, too, though. I recall seeing a guy carrying a small [wild] deer in his arms as he waded through high water. Katrina was a special case though because the worst of the damage was due to the levy situation, not a direct result of the storm but of the fact that NOLA is so far below sea level. I always donate to major disasters if I can. Katrina happened while I was out of work for a few months and needed to conserve funds. Under the circumstances I didn't donate to human charities as I normally would have, but I did donate to support the effort to go in and try to save the animals that were left behind - humane society, I think.

I think if I have to leave for this or another storm, I will leave a large unopened bag of cat food back at the top of the slope by the fence. That way they will tear open small holes in it to eat from (as I know from putting a bag of sunflower seeds back there recently) and maybe the bag will help it stay together longer. Up on the slope it will stay drier longer as the water will have to rise several feet to flood it.

I see Hanna turning a little and am hoping she will continue to do so and maybe miss us both.

Debbie,

Tell Shane the image of me pushing a wheelbarrow full of raccoons through a hotel lobby is priceless.

I tagged your post above. Many people who made earlier requests are not on the tag list yet. When Dave 1st started the tag system, I started that list as I was going back through the old threads tagging things of interest so that we would be able to find them more easily. As there are quite a few threads, I stopped (for air) long before I had finished all of the threads and have never gotten back to that task, so that is why some people who made requests a long time ago are not on the list yet. Someday I hope to finish.

Cheryl -- we too donate to the Humane Society, or did for Katrina. [With DH not working {medical issues} we are conserving funds too] We like to help the ones who can't always help themselves.

I've been watching the news/radar .... really hope this next big one misses you.

we are having a rain day .... remaining effects of Gustav are heading into the upper Midwest ... and we OHHHH sooo need the rain.

and it's quite ironic ..... in June [and currently] parts of Wisc were flooded under FEET of water, and now the ground is so dry, the grass crunches when you walk on it. Would have been nice if there was a way to save some of that water .... on a brighter note from that area .... they are a head of schedule in the work for Lake Delton and repairing the road that washed away.

Hey Cheryl -- I see you are on line [snake thread]
I'm just heading off, so i'll check in on the critters in the morning.

Hope the storm is staying at bay ... or heck -- heads north east.

T.

Cheryl.. Know your bist with work and stuff, but as ya can if if it only to say Hi and bye, try and let us know what your doing an dhow your doing.

Laughing my head off at racoons at a motel. Could imagien them calling room serivice and askign to have strawberry frosting squares made and ordering in 50 lbs of cat food and offering abig tip[ to the bellboy if he can find peeps.

Wonder if they would watch the nature channel on the cable stations. : )

Hi Terese,

Sorry, after I posted the snake pic, I went to sleep. I was planning to type a quick post about last night afterward but found that I was too tired. Anyhow, I must have gone offline before your post as I did not see the alert.

Haven't checked yet this AM but as of last night most models including info from local news showed the storm [predictions] turning more toward the N East so that we were on the far edge of the 'cone'. Right now it looks like more of a threat to NC. I'm hoping it will go on off into the ocean. It doesn't seem very well organized so far.

I was surprised, however, to hear that several businesses here have closed for the day and/or weekend just in case.

Hi starlight,

ROTFL at the image of raccoons on the phone with room service trying to get peeps!

Our weather is nasty today, but so far we aren't expecting a direct hit for Hanna. Sorry, I didn't realize that you guys don't know whether the storm is an eminent threat or not. Will keep in touch throughout the day/night as best I can. On the way to work right now - and running late. But you know how I love to whine, I mean talk, to you guys when things get bad here, so you can be sure I will be screaming loudly (on the thread) if it looks like the storm is coming here. ;-)

Thanks for thinking of me!

Just saw SC gov on cable news channel. Looks like Hanna is predicted to make landfall around 2AM Sat morning around Georgetown, SC possibly as a cat 1 storm. In that case (although one never knows for sure what a storm will do), we will either be outside of the the storm or at least on what is typically the weaker side . Also we will not have storm surge issues. In that case I will probably stay here for the storm - and feed the raccoons early so they can make their storm plans.

Hoping it stays that way and all ya get is some rain, although after the rin, them folks will want everybody cutting grass again.

Be careful on the drive to work and home. Folks may be busy thinking about storms and everythign but their driving today. Hoping she stays a lady and meek and mild.

Saw on good mornign america where maybe Ike will cut across flordia. If it does maybe I wil get some rain depending on where he goes.

Just check in when ya can. Will be on here for most the night and can keep ya company if ya not zonked out.

Will be interestign to see with the storm who coems knocking at your door to see if you wil let them in so they don't have to get their fur wet. If they show up carrying umbrellas ya know they have gotten really spoiled and would rather have one of your couches instead of trees and leaves to sleep in. LOL

Don't work to hard and have a good day, or try too. Remember a day does end so hopefulyl yours wont be bad or long.

Hi starlight,

Ah, thanks. I really like that last sentence.

Amen to that! and TGIF!

When I went out this morning to the car, it was slightly gusty and cool (Auuhhhh) which felt so good for a change. There was virtually no traffic at all, just me at maybe 10 other cars which was spooky. Arrived at work to find an almost empty parking lot (where normally it is bulging at the seams and I can't find a spot anywhere). Turns out that all area schools are closed for the day as are many daycare centers leaving lots of folks unable to come to work for that reason alone. Area colleges have cancelled classes for today. Some businesses have closed probably because without schools and daycare centers there they can't get enough workers in to keep things going.

It looks like the models have actually shifted back a bit towards us again, but the storm is currently a tropical storm not a hurricane. It may stay a TS when it makes landfall. Probably won't be worse than cat 1. That may still be a little scary, may blow a tree down here and there, wreck some shingles, drop small tree limbs and debris everywhere but nothing like the almost total destruction of a major hurricane.

Love the image of the coons at the back door with umbrellas! Actually, they were a little standoff-ish last night. Most were there - including Ms Cruella. Argh! - but except for Dennis and Heidi they kept their distance. Even Cissy and Mink would not come to me. Don't know if they are shaken up by the impending bad weather or stressed by the presence of the AC guys (3 of them) who were in the backyard very near their area for 2 days straight. Mink who normally runs over to me and climbs on me and always takes treats from my hand, never seeming at all afraid of me, would not come closer than about 2ft away even for a miniature cup cake. I was bummed. Whatever is effecting Mink also has Cissy unwilling to come over (as she always does when called) even to get a cupcake or other treat. When Heidi ran out of food last night for her and her kits she came over to look around for more food. She looked at me, too, for a solution. I put my bucket with emergency supply down to the right of my feet and, as if she understood the gesture, she walked up, turned it over, and went inside to eat. Naturally, Dennis (still alarmingly childless) came right up to me to eat peanuts and cup cakes. Cruella may also be the reason everyone is standoffish. When she is around, because she is so inclined to attack without warning, no one (other than Heidi) is willing to go far from the escape cover offered by the brush around the perimeter of the area (where the dishes tend to be). My bench is in the center and in the open, so it is risky for them to come over to me as Cruella may catch them off guard and with no place to run - and they may get hurt.

Better get to work now but will stay in touch as long as I can. Even in a relatively benign storm we may loose power (and, hence, router support). The road leading to my house is lined with very old oaks and magnolias the limbs of which form a canopy over the road such that even on google maps the road just disappears for a while into what looks like forest. During heavy thunderstorms limbs from those trees often take out the power, so if I do go 'offline' for a period later tonight, don't assume the worst.

We are under a NWS hurricane watch though.

Cheryl, stay safe. Remember those coons know how to take care of themselves in bad weather.

I am sure the changes in pressure and all with the storm coming has them "flighty", coupled with the smells of "strangers" in the back yard. Remember when the tsunami hit two years ago....they said the animals started moving inland long before it got there. Well, thank heavens I think the animals have a built in warning system....and will be safer.

Put up some water and supplies for yourself, just in case....remember batteries, even if you have a generator.

Take care, hugs!
Debbie

My dog is like that.... some days he will just stick his nose out the sliding door .... sniff and walk back in... We always joke that it is raining in Iowa ... but rain is usually out there - hours away .... he can always sense it.

Animals are very 'in tune' to the weather.

I'll be watching the weather thru-out the day, praying for the best.

Thanks, Debbie, Terese,

That storm keeps wobbling around. One minute it is moving over closer to us, next minute it is jogging a little to the NE of us. Then back and forth and back and forth. I've never seen one wobble around quite so much. At one point today it was heading right at us again. Right now they again think it will hit NC. Who knows.

The good news is that it will only be a TS or possibly cat 1 hurricane. It's usually the cat 3 and up storms that have extremely destructive power. A storm like this may damage the house but isn't likely to obliterate it. For hours now it has been raining like there is no tomorrow. Some areas of downtown are already impassable, roads under water. the street in front of my house was covered a few inches deep a little while ago when I went out to check for items that might blow away. It's just raining faster than it can drain away. When I came home around 12:30 this afternoon the drainage/retention ponds up around the entrance were alread full, so that is not good.

We left work at noon today; actually, we were all required [by the authority governing the land on which we work] to vacate the property by noon. I filled the car with gas and such. Then took a nap (lol). I think I have all of the necessities. I try to keep a supply of such things at all times because I hate to have to make a trip out to pick up just one item. I have flashlights, batteries (lots), candles, matches, bottled water, food, and the all important raccoon food. Oh, the raccoons don't need water tonight. The whole feeding area is a wading pool. A little while ago when I was outside looking for projectiles, I looked for and called Bast (who is usually 1st out now) but no sign of her or any of the others so far. I wanted to put the food out early, but with all the water that is already on the ground and all of the rain coming down in torrents, I'm afraid the cat food would dissolve and be washed away before the raccoons show up.

I'm fine though and don't expect things to be too terribly bad, so don't worry about me. I may loose power and go offline for a while, but don't take that as a sign of serious trouble. A little while ago the satellite TV went out for a while, so just be warned that I could go offline at any time - just due to something comparatively minor like a limb on a power line. Will keep in touch from time to time until then...Think I will go back outside now to see if the raccoons are starting to arrive.

thanks for the update.

Well fudge, dont know what happened to my post this afternoon. Just noticed it didnt post.

Looks like it turned out to be a good day of sorts after all. At least ya got off work early. : )

From Fay I got 11" of water here, so you probably gonna get bunches too. Only good thing is that it been dry for so long that it didn't take to long for it to eventually soak all in the ground. Bad thing about so much rain is that ya gotta cut grass again where when it was bone dry ya didn't.

The Heidi gan may be hiding in woods or up in trees in woods away from people where they know they will be safer.

What gets me is that Dennises baby or babies shoudl be quite big by now. With Dennis always being a clown I wonder if she worries about her babies cuz of the crying and stuff. But wonder if she don't really know how to take care of them or still so immature herself that she lettign them really grow up wild on their own.

Glad to know ya all stocked up. Here if ya need anythign and if ya have phone service and just need osmebody to talk to and calm nerves, give me a quick call and I wil call ya back so ya don't waste your minutes or power on your p[hone. If ya haven't charge dit up do so now.

Probably may not even be worth putting food out. Like ya said it wil probably float around, but ya cna bet when the rain passes they will all be peeping in yoru windows and pawing at the door begging and wondering why the buffet is still closed. They probably wil be back out before people are. LOL

Prayers for you and all else in the storms path.

Hi starlight,

Sometimes I 'preview' a post and forget to 'send'. I know this because occasionally when I have multiple tabs or windows up, I will click back over later to find my post still waiting in the preview window. When I am using Firefox, sometimes I will back up and accidentally find my post in that same 'preview' state still unsent.

Still no sign of raccoons out there which is most unusual. Bast is always here by now. When I was out there it was just raining lightly. The wind hasn't arrived yet. Latest news indicates the eye should pass to the right of us around midnight. If the storm stays on the current track (which is not at all certain given her propensity to wobble and side step), it will not hit us directly, but the left side (these storms are typically quite large) will come across Charleston. The local news guy says the high winds (when they start) and more or less constant rain will continue through 4-5AM Sat morning.

I'm going out one more time right now to check on the raccoons. After that I may have to give up on them for the night. Earlier when I was out there I was thinking about the image you described of raccoons with umbrellas at the back door. judging from the conditions out there, they may need scuba gear.

Yep, getting the afternoon off with pay was a nice side effect. : )

Other than fish don't know to many creatures that really like to be out in the water. What is funny to me is that the racoons play in th epool and wash their food and so they in water, but maybe it the rain beating down on their coats they don't like. Don't know.

It amazing the fource a 6mm raindrop can can have on the earth. The kinetic energy is something else. It probably really stoings their little bodies too and they have gone to try and find a semi dry spot.

What would be a real trip would be if sinc eya can't fidn them outdoors and it time for bed and ya find them all there hogging your pillows. hehehehe

That an idea for your book too. For a kids book you ould get pics of places, say like a hotel lobby and what do ya clal it super imposing or somethign and have a pic of heidi checking in to the registar with kits all following behind with little black suitcases. : )

Perhaps you need little boats or wash tubs for them to paddle up to the back door for food.....inflatable rafts!

Bast would like rubber boots I am sure, and yes umbrellas are a must...the little ones can turn them upside down....and float on up on them.

Debbie

Hi starlight,

Adorable images. I think i need 2 versions of the book: one for smaller kids and one for us big kids.

Raccoon fur has an amazing ability to shed water. They get out of the pool and presto they are dry. I don't think they enjoy being in the pelting rain, but rain doesn't stop them from coming to eat. I've seen them out there in driving rain and even in high wind, but Heidi for one will not come around if there is an electrical storm on the way. Seems like it's the lightning that worries her.

LOL at the idea of finding all those raccoons in my bed hogging the pillows.

Actually, I just came back a little while ago from feeding the raccoons. I wore my hooded raincoat and sat down out there and put the bucket under the table to keep the food dry as it was raining (med intensity) the whole time. I called and called. I was about to give up when I saw a raccoon climb up the little black cherry tree and peek over the fence. I called to her and started putting the food out. I was waiting to be sure the raccoons would show up before putting it in bowls to get washed away. Once I saw one, I figured the others would likely follow.

For a while it was just Blondie and her 2 kits. Eventually, Cissy and Mink showed up followed by Reba and her 3 and finally Heidi and the gang. Nobody would come anywhere near me. Heidi wouldn't come over for food or for the watermelon I had with me. She even went way back by the fence to go around from one side of the buffet to the other without getting too close to me. Don't know if they are upset about the impending storm, still freaked about the guys being back there for several days this week or maybe it was my raincoat. I usually wear a tank top when I'm back there - even in winter. Tonight I was bundled up in a rain coat with a hood over my head, and the endless rain hitting my coat sounded much like rain on a metal roof. The sound may have made them nervous. Rain doesn't make that sound when it hits 'normal' animals.

But the good news is that they - well most of them - did show up and did eat. I tossed some grapes around along with the watermelon chunks. Because it was so wet back there, I had a hard time finding places to put the food. I like to put the food in the same spots every time, especially since they have settled on their own version of assigned seating. Tonight there was water laying up on the ground throughout the area back there with some feeding spots completely under water. Since I haven't gotten around to switching over to the heavier dishes, I still have those plastic containers out there. Most are from Chinese delivery and are aprox 9x5in rectangular containers roughly 2in deep. In some spots, to keep with the assigned seating, I ended up putting the dry cat food in the plastic containers and allowing it to float atop the water like a raft. After it rained for a while, the cat food bits had swollen to several times their original size still floating in makeshift rafts . Kits could be seen sitting upright in the water, holding onto a raft to keep it still as they ate. It was kind of cute, actually.

Lastly, it is almost 11PM now and I have yet to see any wind. Strange. Just steady rain.

Debbie,

What adorable imagery, kits floating on up turned umbrellas! Did you see that I had to float the food on 'rafts' back there. LOL.

News folks say storm is now 100 miles SSE of Charleston. Still expected to make landfall on SC/NC border. Expecting 6-8in of rain - think we've already gotten that and then some. All is still and quiet. We are under tornado watches/warning, but for now all is calm.

>>kits floating on up turned umbrellas

wasn't that Winnie the Pooh who did that ... on that "Blustery Day" or was that a different one? I loved the Winnie stories.

tcs, that is what I was thinking...of Winnie the Pooh, and Piglet was in there also.

We all have such great imaginations with our raccoon family....I just love it!

Cheryl, stay safe.

Debbie

The desktop weatherchannel I have is showing there were swirling storms right over you a few minutes ago. Stay safe and remember to unplug your computer and tv if there is lightening going on! We sure don't want your computer going down! That is is you have a plugged in computer!

Judy

This message was edited Sep 5, 2008 11:18 PM

Glad some of the gang showed up for you. You may be right probably been alot for them to digest in such short few days New human smells and these ones not having food to share. Wonder if they watched from the trees all the work going on. And then their human come sout looking like somethign from outer space probably to them.

Iot does say something, not sure exactly of the words though that even with everythignthat has been goin gon and the storm and your rain jacket that they at least do trust the sound of your voice. And that it triggers in their tiny brains and while they may be skittish durign this they at least know your sound even if ya look and smell different from yoru rain coat.

Hope it still staying semi calm for ya. Think heard the landfall was supposed to be around 2 am.

Jusy right. Unplug the puter. I have to unplug mine during any kind of semi heavy rainstorms cuz if the power out here in the country flickers it shuts the puter off and usually blows the motem thingy. Have hd to replace three fromstorms where I didn't turn off early enough.

Floating lunch pads. LOL If ya don't like what in one dish or yours gets empty just sit for a bit tilanother one floats on by. LOL Bet that was cute to watch them try and navagate them.

Hope you and all the gang are safe.

Well, that storm turned out to be much ado about nothing - at least for us. Flooding in low lying areas, but around here we get that with a heavy afternoon storm. I never saw any wind to speak of, not even when Widget and I went out around 1AM and 4AM for walks. Wish all tropical storms and hurricanes could be like that one. It is now a lovely, sunny, and cool day - still sopping wet, but lovely just the same. (Now we are watching Ike and Josephine while keeping an eye out for anything else Africa may be planning to toss this way.)

The unfortunate downside of this type of storm as I know from personal experience, after a number of years of this kind of 'storm', those who have never experienced a major hurricane begin to think that this is what a hurricane is like. Then when the big one does finally come, they thumb their noses at it to their peril. Yesterday as we were covering equipment at work just in case, I overheard one of the guys telling the others that we had a cat 3 a few years ago and the roof didn't leak. As a survivor of a 'real' hurricane, I felt I needed to correct the confusion. I asked what cat 3 - knowing as I do that we have not been hit by a major hurricane cat 3 or otherwise since Hugo and none of them were here that long ago. He said, "the one that drowned NC", alluding to Floyd. "Floyd", I corrected him, "Did not hit us. It was expected to hit us, but only side swiped us on its way up the coast." If it had hit us, the outcome would have been much, much different. So that is what happens when people repeatedly hear year after year that this or that hurricane is coming. When the storms skirts by and nothing bad happens, they just remember that we 'had' a huge hurricane and it wasn't that bad. Hey, I know because I was once just like them. All my life the hurricanes had been 'duds', so when the local emergency management folks were begging us all to leave before Hugo arrived, I was sitting on my sofa in Charleston thinking, "nah, I've lived through these things all my life. I'm not going anywhere. "

Hope others in the path of Hanna have faired similarly well.

Judy, starlight -- As for computers, I have a desktop upstairs which i never use anymore. It is connected to the internet through a router. If a power surge comes up the line I suspect that it will take out the router before it reaches the computer. I believe I bought the router in 2003 for $49 less $25 rebate, so am not too worried about it. Downstairs - where I live and even sleep - I have 2 laptops both of which actually belong to my customer but I use them for everything. Both are wireless. Thanks for the heads-up on that though. All suggestions for avoiding storm damage and for preparing for the aftermath are greatly appreciated. Yesterday on the way home from work the DJ reminded me to charge up the cell phone before the storm, something I hadn't even thought about - and mine is almost always on empty. (Virtually every time the car dies or something and I take out the cell phone to call for help, I have 1 bar.)

Thanks to all who sent good thoughts and prayers our way - who knows maybe your combined energy 'moved' the storm to the left enough to miss us - and to those who offered help and stood by to ride out the storm with us!

starlight,

I guess you are right. With all that is and has been going on lately to scare and confuse them, it is good that the raccoons at least still feel comfortable coming around me to eat. They were still willing to come 3-5ft from me, just not their usual friendly selves. Last night when I would toss small watermelon chunks the kits who normally stand by waiting to grab one were often running for their lives as though I were trying to harm them. I actually sat out there for quite a while in the rain, something I almost never do. By the time I came in my coat was soaked as were my pants and I could wring a stream of water from the tail of my shirt.

Hoping the raccoons get back to 'normal' soon.

Sure hope so too. Wouldn't be surpised if ya got sunshien if they all show up today to make up for what they thinkthey missed yeserday.

wouldn't be surpised if Heidi comes marchignup to yoru feet saying ok, weather wa sba dyesterday , now where that watermelon ya had. I just know ya got more of it. ROFL.

Your so right about folks getting lax or thinking nothing gonna happen. When Opel came through here she picked up my trailer at one end from the winds. Thank goodnes for tie downs. But fo rthat few seconds it was like I ws Dorthy in wizrd of oz. Old 00 oaks were felled all over the yard and driveway and thankgoodness folks across the road sent thier baby to spend weekend with grandma that weekend cuz big tree fell through babies room and crushed half of their trailer and we worked all night in storm and rain to cut it up and cover damage with tarps to keep thing sfrom getting worse.

Well ya know Ike coming and hope it goes away, but offer still stands anytime ya need an excape place.

Maybe if ya stil got any strawberry frosting that woudl make them feel a bit more secure coming up. A sure you will be anxiously countign heads the next few days.

Just saw on MSN that the storm has passed through your way. How did you and the kids fare?? Is there anything you neeed?

starlight,

LOL, no problem as I just finished my part of the other side of the melon. It's ready for the raccoons tonight.

What I've noticed is it seems to be human nature not just to think we 'dodged another bullet' but to come to believe that this is what a hurricane is like. That is the real danger. Sounds like you have lived through some pretty scary times there, too.

We are keeping an eye on Ike. That one looks like it could be a danger to you, as well. Are you close enough to the coast to be threatened?

Thank you so much. I have a room here, too, in case the storm heads your way.

We really didn't get any wind damage from what I can see, not even any debris in the yard, so I'm not to concerned about the raccoons. Most were there last night. The others probably just showed up after I left. I believe I do have a can of strawberry frosting and an extra loaf of bread. Also have 1/2 of an angel food cake left over. May give them some of that, too. With all the egg whites that go into an angel food cake, it should be perfect for them - protein and sugar.

Hi tetleytuna,

We are all fine. Seems like the storm mostly passed by us. We had a ton of rain but I never saw any real wind, have seen more wind in afternoon thunderstorms. For us it turned out to be a non-event. Today is a lovely sunny day, very soggy, but otherwise nice. I think the power of all that positive energy generated by the folks at DG helped to shove the storm a little to the right so that it passed us by. ;-)

No, we are all fine. Don't need anything, but thank you so much for asking!