Picking up and packing up

Yesterday, Barry cut what was left of the Bradford pear down. That way, we won't keep saying "we miss it" and can get over it. Most of the flowering plum came down today, but we can probably still save that. Another Bradford pear got a limbing, as did a dogwood. The mimosa is next -- RIP, mimosa.

The whole area looks like a series of tornadoes came through -- except that the damage is much more widespread, and the trees are broken off in all directions. So sad to see people with trees on their roofs, electric service ripped from their houses, people dying of carbon monoxide poisoning because they don't know NOT to place generators OUTSIDE! Schools here in Boyle County have been out since before the ice storm -- they lost ALL week last week, and today and tomorrow as well. We're still under a boil water advisory, and probably will be until at least tomorrow...we'll see.

Putting everything in perspective, no power for 3 days but we were never really cold; lost virtually NO food, only damaged three trees seriously. There are still 250,000 people here without power, and for most of them, freezers full of food are now gone; in western Kentucky, many people aren't yet able to get home, and the National Guard is patrolling the streets.

The overall damage here in Kentucky is much worse than it was in Maine in '98; the big difference is that the pain won't last as long -- in another month, temps will be getting up into the 50s and 60s regularly, and even yesterday it nearly topped 60; with sun and south-facing windows, we got it up to 76 inside yesterday without the heat on.

That said, we're packing for Florida. We're going to drive down, stay in Cocoa 4 days, pick up some oranges, lemons, grapefruit, etc., and just bum around central Florida, maybe even get a side trip to Tampa or Vero Beach. It'll be a brief but welcome vacation.

The Cat is getting used to his "kitty kondo" at the Heartland Vet Clinic's "Crowbar Motel", as Barry calls it.