Earthquakes, hurricanes, and floods...oh my!

So I am standing in line at Walmart.  The Walmart associate is ringing up my purchases.  She stops....looks up, wide-eyed...."Do you feel that?"  I flipantly reply, "Yeah.  Colorado had an earhquake yesterday.  Maybe we're evening things out."  We look up and people are standing, staring, open mouthed, wondering.  It's like when you experience vertigo.  You're not quite sure what to do.  Swallow.  Blink your eyes.  Shake your head.  And then it's over.  I have been in California earthquakes and a couple in Utah.  This was just like those but in slow motion.  Cool.  No damage.  Oh wait.  I did have to set up a picture that had toppled over in my living room.
And then there was Irene on the weekend.  We weren't worried about the rain or the wind.  We were prepared with our 72 hour survival kit and jigsaw puzzles.  (But please don't let the power go out!!!)  The rain began on Friday with a little wind.  It just got harder and harder. (Both wind and rain.)  You know those litle waterfalls that go over the side of fountains?  It looked like that out all our windows.  So far, so good.  No flooding and power is still on.  Charlie got a call from the hospital on Saturday night at 11:00.  The ICU and OB were taking in water.  He spent the rest of the night at the hospital with his engineering manager and lots of buckets and towels.  The patients were moved to dryer rooms.  The rain was just coming down too fast and hard and the old building just couldn't keep up on the north side.  I went to bed.  Power still on.  The news was now broadcasting 24/7 on all networks.  I just love it when there is a mandatory evacuation and all the excited weather people and their cameramen go down to the shore to show us how bad it is and why everyone was evacuated.
I heard Charlie come in about 7:00 in the morning.  Church was cancelled so he will be able to sleep.  He was vacuuming in the basement with the wetvac.  Not a good sign.  At 7:30, the power went out.  It lent to a very peaceful Sabbath.  Quiet reflection while putting together jigsaw pizzles.  The wind was dying down and the rain had become a mist.  The water in the basement will just have to wait.
Power was restored in the afternoon.  I was almost sorry.  It had really been a wonderful, peaceful day.

Mancave still under construction so all will be well when it dries.

Honeysuckle bushes stripped almost bare.

Irene helped us by doing some natural pruning.

We were planning on getting rid of this branch anyway.

We were spared any major damage, unlike so many in Philly and on north.  It is now Wednesday and the poor people in Vermont are and will be dealing with the flooding for months. (See your local newscast.)

We set an all-time record for forever in rainfall for one month in Philly area.  We went into the hurricane with 13 inches.  Irene added another 6 to 7.  But then it takes a lot of water to produce watermelons.  My neighbor has a watermelon patch and begged me to come over and take one.  30 pounds of the best, wateriest, watermelon I have ever tasted that didn't come out of Green River, Utah.