3 days of Sabine and still goilng

Storm Sabine won't let go. It's been exciting/treachearous 3 days and nights.

The first night I could not sleep at all, but for brief moments of dozing off dreaming about the storm's destruction. I dreamt my animals were killed and my greenhouse exploded in a pile of shattered glass (though it's plastic).

In real life our animals stayed where they should be.

Though for fear of death our cat refused to go outside to poop and she used our litter box which sent J flying from the living room yelling "the stink, oh the stink!" (We are so lucky she almost never poops in her box.)


     
Our retired bbq tried to make a bid for the skies and landed hard in a final death blow.

Despite the madness Mag and Bellis just .......stayed out there 3 days (!!!), unable to come in cuz I wanted Mag's wound to have a chance to stay dry. Dry but muddy, it stayed. It was a dry mud until the hail came.

It's been alternating hail, lightning, gusts, thunder, snow, sleet, gusts, SUN and a splash of rain to just fill out the options. J said there was sleet too.

The sky went a sick shade of yellow at one point. I love storms but we have so much that could go wrong here. When panels fly off the greenouse, they become deadly weapons.

Our wooden fence is sagging against the wind and I swear, never again to a pretty wood fence. Pretty is so fleeting.

Night 4, the wind is still making all the slate shingles on our house slap against each other. You think you'd get used to that. It makes it hard to sleep.

Today I finally brought Mag and Bellis in for a health check and I wanted to look at his leg. It's bad, there's a permanent black scar but there are also red areas where I expect hair to grow back. I spent a half hour washing it with warm water and drying it with my newly patented 8 towel system, and I have to say.....

Mag was cooler with the storm than I was. Every time a gust came, I thought I needed to escape the area, surely a tree would fall on us! He ignored my twitchiness and stood there, "I've had this for 3 days straight, human. Hold it together!"

My theory was correct - being trapped out at pasture was fine with my animals, because the open space felt safer to them. (No worries, they both have blankets on - Bellis will melt if she gets water on her back.)

We've miraculously had no damage from the storm. I am assuming Sabine will stop soon.

***

Tonight was another workday where I had to take the bus to and from work (which costs me 5 bucks). As soon as I was ready to leave the house, it started hailing/snowing/gusting so powerfully I had to laugh. I enjoy storms when I'm safe inside, but there's nothing worse than waiting for a bus in a white-out storm!

I felt like Pa Ingalls braving The Long Winter in Wisconsin, holding my hand over my ear because I thought I had already given myself an ear infection today cleaning up poop out there.

Snow and hail balls were piling up on me. The horse and donkey were inside, sharing a bag of hay.

When I arrived at work I flipped on the radiator and took the chairs off the table and got out the exercises I'd spent 2 hours today preparing.

5 minutes later my boss came in the room and said, "You're not supposed to be here. The next three weeks the kids won't be having English lessons, they'll be focused on other subjects."

This was incomprehensible to me - how does a student suddenly not have to learn one of its subjects? Those don't cease to exist just cuz you have a test in another class coming up!

I'm sure my boss read my dubious expression and understood when I said in formal German, "You're telling me they're just .....NOT learning English for a while?"

He said he sent me an email but sure enough, Thunderbird sent it to the Junk folder. (Tonight I white-listed him finally so that shouldn't happen again. Thanks a lot Thunderbird!)

So I waited for a second bus within1 hour and the snowy hail came again. This time I at least had a bus shelter, but the wind was such that my messenger bag on my lap was gathering a layer of white. I texted J the situation with shaking fingers and used the German word for "Dang it all!"

As I walked home from the bus top Mag stopped grazing and stared at me, his neck bending to follow me as I walked. He's fascinated by the fact that I sometimes leave here without him. I said, "Be careful or you'll get a crick in your neck Mag."

I love exciting weather that does no real damage. I'll be praying it stays that way.

I asked J where storm Sabine came from; he replied the Gulf of Mexico. I shouted out the bedroom window, "Thanks Louisiana, I still love your gumbo!"