My Hurricane Post

Ever since flying into Denver, I've complained about how brown everything is. The grass is brown, the mountains are brown, and the riverbeds even seem devoid of water and brown most of the year. I have been pretty hard on Denver in regards to its parched earth, so Mother Nature is ensuring that I see my fair share of water while I'm home.

It started raining a little while ago and it will continue raining all day tomorrow. Hurricane Irene will be visiting upstate NY. For the first time in my memory, the residents of the Hudson Valley, are under a Tropical Storm Warning. The Weather Channel says we are in the extreme threat zone and some models of the hurricane path place the storm directly overhead. We're about two hours North of NYC and Troy is the northernmost point of the tidal estuary. The Hudson was already high and who knows how much rain will fall (estimates range from 5-8"). I usually get pretty proud when Albany is displayed on a map broadcasted on national television, but perhaps a hurricane isn't the best reason to be on the map.

So, the main threat at my house, just like with any storm we've faced, is our trees and whether or not they will remain vertical. I'll leave you with a picture of the "Great Tree Accident of 2003." At midnight on a summer evening, one of the trees across from our house keeled over, unprovoked, landing on our front yard, knocking out power, and completely blocking our road.

Great Tree Accident of 2003

We're so lucky we don't live near the ocean or directly along the Hudson. And my thoughts are with those who do, especially my friends in the City. Here's hoping that the rest of the storm is a complete bust. In the meantime I can't stop singing, "Come on Irene," (not intending to be provocative, mind you!).