Matthew - Go Away!

I woke up at 1:17 a.m. on Friday, October 7, 2016 to the sound of my ceiling fan.  Not to the sound of wind and rain that I was expecting.  Ah, wouldn't it be wonderful if Fox news and others had been absolutely wrong and there was no hurricane barreling our way.  I decided to get up and check the pool level and I was glad I did since it was only an inch or two from overflowing. 

I grabbed my trusty new flashlight and headed out to start the process of pumping water out of the pool.  Happily, while the water level in the pool had risen by several inches, the water level on my patio had diminished by as many.  Last night when I stepped outside my screened pool enclosure it was into ankle deep water.  In the wee hours, it was barely an inch deep.  A testament to the efficiency of the sandy Florida soil that it can absorb so much water so quickly.  I suspect there are giant sink holes forming as I type.  Hurricanes and sink holes.  Just two reasons why there are still people living in Iowa.

You're probably asking yourself the burning question "What was she wearing as she strolled into the backyard to fiddle with the pool pump?"  Nothing, fashion mavens, nothing.  It was still raining lightly and I just couldn't be bothered.  It was the middle of the night, I have a privacy fence around my yard and at almost 66 I've had enough pelvic exams and mammograms to inure me from worry about strangers seeing me "bare pickle" as an old friend would say.  Actually, she was elderly and rather eccentric when I knew her in the 1960's and I suspect she would have cheered me on as I dashed through the yard in my birthday suit. 

After 30 minutes, the pool was low enough to change the pump again.  On this trip into the yard the wind was noticeably stronger.  Back inside, I checked the trusty internet for an update on my friend Matthew.  I checked the Orlando Sentinel website, which took me to a link to Fox News -  clearly the most reliable news source on the planet.

Before I tell what what the live-streaming meteorologist was saying I want to give the caveat that the poor guy has been broadcasting for hours.  All day and night, really.  So we have to cut him some slack.  But really, even my Myanmar Grade One Yellow Sunflowers could tell him that when we look at a map and describe motion, we wouldn't say "Matthew is moving to the right."  No, we would say "Matthew is moving to the east."

Geography aside, it is wonderful news.  While still a very strong storm, they are now predicting when Matthew comes closest to the Florida shore near Cape Kennedy at 8:00 a.m., the winds will be around 100 MPH rather than the expected  150 MPH.  All because he is "moving right".

The rain is still falling, but lightly.  The winds are strong, but gusting.  Not yet the powerful straight line winds which are still heading our way.

For now, I'm going back to bed.