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As Hurricane IKE approached, we left one hummingbird feeder out until sunset as two of the little guys kept feeding till the bitter end. We were pretty sure they were enjoying their last meal with no knowledge of what was about to hit them.
Oddly enough, we lost power around 8:00 pm Friday night. Wind was not blowing, no rain, nothing. Just a distant “poomph” as the transformer that fails with some regularity failed for apparently no reason. The lights in the houses across the street continued to glow warmly. Curse them.
As the sun was going down Cynthia and I were sitting outside marvelling at the wind as it started to build. The trees were swaying and rustling in the wind. I was pretty sure this was going to be a bad night. We had our supplies and Dooley and Mr. Zippers had been moved into the interior hallway so as to protect them should a window break.
At one point (long before the storm) the trees in front of our house got hit by a strong gust of wind and bowed to 45 degree angle. At that point we moved inside to ride it out.
As you might imagine, things continued to deteriorate. The wind picked up and was pretty much a constant howling as it whipped around the corners of the house and tried to find its way inside through any seam or crack. This went on for hours and hours.
With no power we only had out battery operated radio to keep us informed. It’s one of those radios that receives TV band so we could tune into the network news stations and get an idea of what was going on. That thing was our lifeline and the best hurricane supply in our arsenal.
About the time the storm was hitting us full on I fell asleep, just exhausted. Cynthia was not so fortunate. I felt bad abandoning her to my own slumber, but knew I would need my strength the next day during the cleanup.
When the sun came up, the wind was still gusting pretty strong but definitely dying down. Cynthia looked out the back window and exclaimed “there’s a birdy out there!” I braved the outside to go into the garage and get the feeders and re-hang them. As I was looking around I noticed a large branch from our flowering Pear tree had broken off and landed in the yard. the house was fine as was the garage. The fence was down in the back and along the driveway.
As I was hanging the seed feeders and the hummingbird feeders a wren zipped in an landed on the door to the garage to watch me.
And literally within minutes there were dozens of sparrows up on the roof of the garage
After I went inside the house the sparrows moved in
And most surprisingly, TWO hummingbirds!
Wet and bedraggled, you know they had a rough night. I can’t even imagine how they survived, but they did.
After awhile, Ricky and Lucy put in an appearance
Watching them has been a HUGE moral boost. With no TV or Internet the bird show has enjoyed some high ratings at our house.
It’s Tuesday and we’re still without power. The neighbors across the street got theirs back on last night so we’re hopeful. The neighborhood HEB opened and we were able to get some ice and some more supplies. We’re holding on. The cold front has been a GODSEND! Lows in the upper 50’s last night with low humidity. It’s bearable.
Obviously we’re anxious to put this behind us and grateful it was not a whole lot worse for us.
At work now. Internet access and air conditioning is good for the soul.
I want a hamburger.
