Good Riddance, Ike!

We boarded up and moved things out of the yard so that they wouldn't become projectiles. I had hurricane supplies set out on the dining room table and put new batteries in some of the tap lights I have had for years. The lights started flickering about 10 PM, so from then on, I carried a mini-lantern, a crank-type flashlight and my cell phone everywhere I went in the house. I wore a forehead light (bought because it seemed like a great light for reading if we lost power.) I thought you might like a photo of how I looked traipsing from room to room. I found an old phone that doesn't require an electrical connection and a long cord to plug it into a jack. I put it down somewhere during all the flickering and spent the next 15 or 20 minutes trying to find it. Not that it was dark...the power would flicker off and immediately come back on...I had placed it on top of a cooler near the kitchen door and I just didn't see it. I should mention that every time the power flicked off, either the microwave or the oven would emit a high-pitched squeal. Very annoying. After about the 15th or 20th flicker, I decided to shut off both A/C systems. Of course, as soon as I did that, the power stayed on, but I waited about an hour and a half before I turned them on again.

I read a while and then I watched a movie that I had recorded a couple of weeks ago, although I could have watched DishNet. We never lost our satellite reception either. Decided to go to bed about 1 AM. I put my ear plugs in so I wouldn't hear anything and went right to sleep.

I went outside about 8 this morning and saw that an oak tree in the side yard had been blown down. Went I got to the tree, I saw that it had no roots on the exposed side. That is a low area in the yard and when we were having a lot of rain a year or so ago it stayed soggy there. I guess the roots rotted, although you couldn't tell it from the leaves. I guess that's one less tree to have to mow around. We need to trim some of the other trees, though.

I'm ready to get the boards off the windows. Maybe I can help Wayne do that. He's already been to the fairgrounds and brought Dusty back. Speaking of transporting animals, a friend sent me a series of photos depicting an Oklahoma dude transporting a bull. I thought I ought to post those here. Amazing!