"Good Night, Irene"!

Is it possible that Irene used most of her twist and shout energy in the first dance and spun herself right out of energy?  She has fluctuated between Category 3, 2 and 1, according to the local news-listeners at Starbuck's this morning.  Maybe she is fizzling out, defying expectations of her greatness.  Or perhaps she is resting up before catching her second wind.  At any rate, she cut into my Saturday night plans.  At least this wasn't my wedding day, as it was for a sad North Carolina couple who were forced to evacuate.  I'm sure the Maryland State Fair is taking a hit, with many disappointed kids who had hoped to get on the rides, milk a cow, and see the baby animals.

With the news of the coming of Hurricane Irene earlier this week, I kept hoping she would spin out to sea.  As the days go by, it has become clear that many are hoping and praying harder than I am.  Over 300,000 people were told to evacuate low-lying areas of New York, and my sister and her family are housing another evacuee family in coastal Connecticut tonight.  They are prepared for days without power, having already survived a week without electricity this past March in 50 degree weather.

Here in Baltimore, more inland, we are expecting a tropical storm tonight.  I made little preparations last night:  taking the compost to the backyard pile, moving patio chairs and waste bins into the garage, clipping the hedges (after all, would disaster befall such a well-kept property?), and charging my laptop and cellphone.  I also put the solar flashlight and solar radio in the windowsill to charge up.

After some consideration, I also made a run to the office today to rescue the vaccines from a potential power outage there.  With no back-up generator and no way to remotely assess the power status at Green Spring Station, it finally became clear to me that having the vaccines here at home was a better idea.  This way, I can measure the temperature where they are kept and put them in an ice cooler if the power goes out.  I thought about running to the store for candles, but I really do have plenty at home.  It may be better to just get extra rest anyway if we lose power.  I don't know, though, it just seems this storm hopefully will not be as disastrous as the news stations predict.  Public anxiety does seem key to news ratings.