Dry side of Ike
After pounding Galveston Island and Houston to our east, Hurricane Ike ponderously swirled northeast, leaving not a trace of rain in my north-central Austin garden. You wouldn’t even have known there was a massive hurricane spiraling two and a half hours away except for a major influx of evacuees into Austin’s shelters and school gyms and an occasional gust of wind on Saturday.
My heart goes out to those hit hard by the hurricane and to those who fled to safety but face flooded or wind-damaged homes when they return. I heard that fellow Spring Flinger Cindy of From My Corner of Katy (near Houston) weathered the storm and has electricity again. I hope her garden weathered it too.
But still, most of Austin was hoping for a few rain showers to alleviate our dry conditions. Instead, yesterday evening I was turning on my sprinkler again.
Hi – glad to hear you are OK. I knew Texas was big but I hadnt realised it was that big!!!
Thanks for your concern, PG. Oh yes, Texas is big. Though, of course, so was that hurricane. —Pam
Hi Pam, that is so surprising. I thought for sure you would get rain, if not flooding. I was thinking of Cindy and the Houston bloggers and hope they are safe.
I just spoke to a friend in central Houston, Frances, and they had no flooding although the wind drove rain through a couple of windows and a door. Power is still down for her, and they don’t know if it will be fixed tomorrow or a week from tomorrow. —Pam
Pam, that is just somehow “not right” for you and all of Austin to get no rain in your gardens! Chicago had a record day of rain yesterday, too. We had a dry day in Indianapolis, just 3 – 4 hours south of Chicago. Who knows where the winds blow and why any more!
I was sure that you would get some rain out of this too, Frances. It seems to be all or nothing this year, doesn’t it? —Pam
I’m very glad to know you’re okay there in Austin. 🙂
Thanks, Nancy. It’s a beautiful, sunny day, and we’re supposed to have a cool front from the Canadian Rockies come through tomorrow that will give us mid-80-degree temps for the rest of the week. That’s fall weather around here! —Pam
Geez, Pam, hard to believe that you didn’t get a drop but we got soaked here in Chicago with record rainfall.
I’m glad that you didn’t suffer the devastation that Galveston and Houston did. I feel so bad for those who lost their homes and lives.
Me too, Carolyn Gail. It sounds like the loss of life was not bad because so many heeded the order to evacuate. The flooding and wind damage is awful though. —Pam
Pam, I was really hoping the storm would bring rain to Austin as well as to my corner of Katy. As desperately as we needed it, I know y’all needed it more.
I feel very fortunate that power was restored so quickly, especially considering that my neighbors across the street are still without. When I heard the clicks and whirs of the computer coming back to life last night, I was ecstatic!
I bet that was a happy sound, Cindy. So glad to know that all is well with your family and home. I hope your garden comes through mostly unscathed as well. —Pam
It’s crazy, isn’t it? That a couple hours away the weather can be so different. My brother lives in San Antonio and experienced the same thing as you (no rain). Hopefully you’ll get some moisture soon but it’s good you escaped the ravages of a hurricane.
I agree, Kathleen. Much as I’d have appreciated some rainfall from Ike, I sure didn’t want the flooding that southeast Texas received. —Pam
It looks like whoever sprayed Texas with Scotch Guard waterproofing missed the eastern edge. Ike seemed to just bounce off Texas on the radar maps.
Hoping you get rain but lets skip the hurricane stuff. Too many people are in the way.
We central Texans can get pretty desperate for rain, especially during a dry, dry summer like this one. In those cases, we’ll look for rain wherever we can get it, even hurricanes. Of course I wouldn’t wish a hurricane’s damage on anyone. Luckily, Mother Nature doesn’t care what anyone wishes for, and she does just as she likes. —Pam
Pam, it is so strange that we are now getting rain and major wind gusts from Ike here in Indiana and you were not really affected. I’m glad all is well with you and hoping you get rain soon.
Yes, it is strange indeed. Enjoy the rain and stay safe from the wind. —Pam
Your blog is wonderful! I’m adding it to my blogroll at Defining Your Home Garden. I found you through Blotanical–I’m a recent new member. Thanks! Cameron
Hi, Cameron. Thanks for the kind words and for saying hello. Your blog looks great, and I’m particularly interested in looking for inspiration in your deer-resistant garden. —Pam
We escaped virtually unscathed here in East Texas. So glad to get all that rain though!
Brenda
I’m envious of your rain, Brenda. Glad to hear you escaped wind damage. —Pam
I was sure we’d missed the rain entirely, but it looks like we got a small shower early this morning in south Austin. Which makes me doubly happy after the extensive shoveling of mulch and yard cleanup I did in preparation for storms on Saturday that never came!
Lucky you to get a rain shower, Lori. Even a small shower is better than nothing, isn’t it? —Pam
Happy to hear you are out of the woods with that storm and so surprised you didn’t even get a drop of rain. The vagaries of nature! Rain dance in order!
I’ll be dancing soon, Layanee! —Pam
Wow that’s weird Pam. I would have thought y’all would at least have gotten some rain. I’m glad though, that you had no damage.
We’ve had over 7″ of rain since Thursday here. It’s been relentless. Thankfully it seems to have finally passed. Roads are closed and we have some water in the basement but no damage.
Wow, 7 inches is a lot of rain. I’m sure you’re glad it’s finally ended. Thank goodness it didn’t do any damage. —Pam
Weird that we ended up getting more rain from Ike than you did! Ike is coming through right now. A big branch from a neighbor’s tree fell partially on my boyfriend’s car in the street–luckily just little branches hit where his car was sitting, so there are probably some minor scratches and dents. The dog definitely does not like the sound of the heavy equipment out there moving it, either. 🙂
It is amazing how far Ike traveled to deliver rain—and yet not spare any for us. I’m glad your boyfriend’s car is OK. It sounds like a close call. —Pam
So glad to hear that you weren’t affected by Ike. We, here in Central Indiana, got some mighty winds today. Lots of limbs and trees down. Just amazing that as far away as we live we got 66mph wind gusts. It was scary. I can’t hardly imagine how it would have been with higher winds and rain. All in those dire conditions are certainly in my prayers.
I know—imagine 100 mph winds. I can’t quite picture it. I hope your house and garden came through unscathed from the last gasp of Ike. —Pam
So glad you are ok. Sorry you didn’t get any rain though. A reason for all things. We are still wet here around me. My garden/yard doesn’t need any more wet stuff. North Central Fl.
If it was predictable, we’d probably be bored, right? Thanks for the concern. I hope you dry out soon in Florida. —Pam
Pam, I’m glad you were spared devastation and I’ll keep hoping soaking rains make it your way before too long (I know it’s already been too long!).
My feeds haven’t been working quite right and I’m just catching up – there’s certainly lot’s of change in the works for you. I’ll look forward to seeing a new garden beginning and I’ll definitely have to be much better about keeping up!
It’s good to hear from you again, Kris. Yep, big changes are underway for me with the move, and it’s exciting to contemplate starting over with a new garden. —Pam
Pam, What a relief that the storms are over and what a shock the rain patterns have been. The midwest was soaked and you got nothing. We had high winds and a few moments of rain. It has been an interesting season! Gail
Indeed it has. As I said in response to an earlier comment, it keeps us from getting bored, right? —Pam
I hoped we’d get some rain, but experience has taught us to be skeptical, hasn’t it, Pam? Drought or Hurricane – some choice!
Three years ago Hurricane Rita also gave us wind with no rain while smashing the coast. The Austin City Limits festival went on, while many Austinites sheltered family members escaping from hard-hit areas. So many Austin people have emotional and family ties to the Houston-Beaumont area.
Because we met each other in April, a lot of garden bloggers now have emotional ties to that area, too – we’re feeling bad for our fellow Spring Flingers who are cleaning up from Ike. I guess we have you to thank for those ties, Pam!
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
We do have emotional ties to that area, as well as so many other areas post-Spring Fling. Imagine how many more we’ll forge at the next Fling in Chicago, Annie. —Pam
Dallas got rain and wind but that’s all. Thanks for letting us know about My Corner of Katy. I was hoping she was ok.
You’re welcome, Linda. I’m glad your garden came through just fine too. —Pam
I’ve just learned that we in Chicagoland got hit with both Hurricanes Lowell & Ike. That’s why we got over 8 inches of rain in less than 48 hours. I know lots of people with flooded basements. We had just a little seepage down one wall of the basement. Ugh!
Good grief, two hurricanes? That’s two too many, MMD. I’m glad your damage was minimal. —Pam
I can’t believe you didn’t get any rain! Man, what a rip-off!
Your sister is in Houston, is that correct? If so, I assume she is fine.
Harrowing pictures on the news.
My sister does live in Houston, but she is vacationing in Key West and so has escaped the hassle of power loss and clean-up. A neighbor let her know that her house was unscathed, so she was lucky. —Pam
WOW!!
What a beautiful pictures you start with.
The other ones is also beautiful,but the first one is…WOW!
Ken
Thanks, Ken! I’m glad you like seeing roses paired with agaves. —Pam