The Aftermath of Hurricane Irene: Part 2

During the Hurricane, I worried about all the trees around our property and in the adjacent woods. I thought for sure that a tree would coming crashing down.  One did, but in the woods and thankfully not on our property.  Here is the gaping hole where a tree used to stand.

Here is the tree that fell. It's not a good photo, but you can see the trunk a bit in the foreground and there is a big limb leaning above that.  These trees are very tall and sit in city owned property.  I am so fortunate that the tree didn't fall onto our property crushing the garden or garage. 

And speaking of Hurricane's... I have a gripe to pick.  I keep hearing talk around the internet and even from friends  about how people, the government and media over reacted about how bad the storm was going to be and that the storm wasn't a big deal when all was said and done.  It's easy to Monday Morning Quarterback, and complain after the fact, but I don't think we should underestimate the power of mother nature.  A Hurricane is unpredictable, and I think it's better to be prepared for the worst.  Seeing all the photos and video footage on TV about all the flooding, property damage, fallen trees, and down power lines is significant and shouldn't be downplayed.  In NY alone, there were 6 deaths attributed to the Hurricane.  There could have been many more if it weren't for the city government's mandatory evacuations, MTA shutdowns, and stern warnings to stay home.  As a wife of a first responder, I see why city officials would close down the MTA and issue evacuations in the flood zone as a preventative measure to protect the citizens and the first responders.  If they didn't shut down the MTA trains, subways and buses, I know there would have been a lot more accidents and injuries since more people would have been out in the storm, putting more lives at risk, especially the first responders.  While everyone is safe at home, first responders are out in the storm risking their lives to help others.  Rescuing people from floods, car accidents, fallen debris, you name it.  While the "complainers" are sitting on the couch eating their potato chips, complaining about the subway not running, my husband and all his colleagues are putting in two 19 hour shifts during the storm responding to 911 calls. They only gave his squad a two hour break for a quick nap and then it was back to work.  So this is what I ask of you the next time you want to complain about the preventative measures of Irene, think about the firemen, policemen, EMTs, and all the first responders who don't get to go home and watch TV and ride out a storm.  They are the ones that work in the storm, saving people like you and me.  So let's give them some respect, and stop complaining about being inconvenienced for 2 days.  Instead, just thank them and your lucky stars that Irene was a mild storm, and that you are SAFE and sound.  End gripe.

The Aftermath of Hurricane Irene: Part 1

I had such a rough night with the Hurricane. I did not sleep a wink since our basement is prone to flooding when we get constant rainfalls.  Without fail, after hours of constant rain, water started coming into the basement through the floors, windows and bulkhead door.   Water was even starting to come in through the drain of the slopsink in the basement.  It's because the slopsink is connected to the sewer line and with the rainwater overloading the sewer system in the neighborhood, the water was coming back into the house.  I spend about 4 hours scooping out the water out of the slopsink with buckets.  The more I scooped, the more the water filled the sink. I kept at it even though I was exhausted because if I didn't remove the water, my basement would have flooded.  What an ordeal!  The next project on my list is to install a shut off valve to prevent water from coming back to the house. When the Hurricane finally passed us, I went outside to check out the garden.  I couldn't wait to see what was in store for me.  I was really surprised, the garden didn't look as bad as I thought it would.  I thought the wind was going to tear down the bean pole trellises, but they were still standing.  Yeah!

However, the same can't be said the same of the tomato plants.  You can't really tell from this photo, but many of the tomato plants  have all fallen over.

Here is a closeup, this tomato plant was tied to a wooden dowel and tomato cage, but that didn't help it  much.   It toppled over.   LOL.  I need to come up with a better trellis system.  I was pretty amazed that some of the tomato cages barely budged in the howling wind.  They did pretty good with protecting the tomato plants.  You'll see on the left a cage still standing.

Before the storm hit, I hesitated with picking the green tomatoes.  I ended up not picking them and hoped for the best.  To my surprise, these large Brandywines stayed on the vine!  I thought because they were so heavy that they would for sure be knocked off the vine.  I am so glad I didn't pick them because I prefer to have them ripen on the vine. Hooray!  I can't wait for the Brandywines to start changing color!!  I can't wait to try these tomatoes.

Outside the picket fence the plants didn't fare as well.  I guess because they had less protection from the wind.  I think the picket fence helped protect the other plants from the whipping wind.  Here is the bed with the tobacco and tomato plants.  It is a toppled mess.

A view from the other side of the raised bed.  The plants are still alive, they just need to be supported somehow.  To be honest, I'm not that sad that these plants were crushed.  It was the hubs hobby, not mine. :)

Here is the bed with some of the tomato plants.  Totally blown over.

Most surprisingly, I only found one green tomato on the ground.  A Yellow Pear!  Isn't it just amazing that all the tomatoes stayed on the vine?  I am sooo impressed!  Even after many of the tomato plants fell, the tomatoes stayed in tact.  I learned a lot from this big storm, that plants are pretty resilient even after Hurricane gust winds and torrential rainfall.  I hope everyone who was in the path of Irene came out of it safe and sound.

Picking Tomatoes Before the Storm

This has been quite the interesting week for us.  First we felt the Earthquake that hit Virginia, all the way up here in NYC!  Now we are preparing for a Hurricane.  An Earthquake and a Hurricane all in the same week?  Talk about an eventful week!  Watching the news about Hurricane Irene barreling it's way up the East Coast is very scary.  Tomorrow I'll be going out to the garden and put all the lawn furniture and garden pots in the garage for safe keeping.  We haven't had a Hurricane like this hit these parts in some time, so I'm beginning to worry.  In anticipation of the Hurricane coming our way, I went out to the garden and picked some Heirloom tomatoes.  My favorite is Tiny Tim.  I see now how it got it's name.  It's as small as a dime!  Cute.

I was watching the news today and saw that I live in Zone A, a flooding and evacuation zone of the NYC area.  Mayor Bloomberg said he would announce on Saturday morning whether he will give the order for a mandatory evacuation for residents that live in the orange areas of the map below.  That big orange blob in Staten Island, that's where we live.  Crap.  Double crap!  Tomorrow, I have to go into the basement and move all the boxes to the 1st floor just in case it floods like it did 2 years ago when we got 24 hours of non-stop rain.  I'm thinking about all those people who live on the East Coast, hoping and praying that everyone stays safe and sound.

Update: I found this interactive map on Weather.com and it tracks the storm.  It's a good tool to use to see where the storm is heading.