Preparing for Harvey

Mindy here, and by the time you read this we will likely still be dealing with the remnants of Hurricane Harvey. You see, even though our ranch is located 100 miles from the coast, this storm is expected to impact a huge portion of southeast Texas—including us—with tropical storm force winds and upwards of 20 inches of rain.

So what does one do to prepare for a hurricane?

Well, that depends. Since we live in a rural area, ranchers are scrambling to bring in their hay before the rains fall. Grocery stores are frantically trying to keep up with the demand for water and bread. Schools, which are already in session, are evaluating the forecast to determine when/if they need to call of classes.

Even the animals know when to get ready.

These deer are hunkered down.

See them tucked in the thicket?

And the hummingbirds can’t seem to get enough nectar.

 

We typically have half this many at one time, and though it’s getting close to migration, I suspect their instincts are telling them to get ready.

Then there’s us. Since we are rural, we have a well for water. That means we have a pump. If the electricity goes out, so does the pump and we have no water. So we’ve set out buckets to catch the rain water for things such as doing dishes (after boiling, of course) and flushing toilets. 

Batteries are always important for things like flashlights and portable radios.

Plenty of drinking water.

Ice to keep refrigerated items cold if we lose power.

We moved the grill to the front porch so we don’t have to trek out in the rain to cook whatever might potentially thaw after a day or two without power.

As well as a gas burner for things like heating water and cooking.

Now that we are ready, we wait under ominous skies. And pray.

 

 

UPDATE: Saturday morning. Who would have guessed that a tropical depression meandering around the Yucatan Peninsula a week ago not only reorganized, but was able to become a Category 4 hurricane? Harvey’s outer bands began to impact us yesterday afternoon. Overnight, we were inundated with wind and rain.

And we're nearly 150 miles from where the storm made landfall!

We awoke to a little over 6 inches of rain which, considering we haven’t had any measurable rain in over a month and were very dry, is good.

This was the pond in front of our camphouse Thursday.

See how low that water is. Almost dry under the bridge.

This is what it looks like this morning.

The concern is over what is yet to come the next several days. They’re saying we may not be free of this storm until Wednesday or Thursday.

Oh, but we still have power. Yay!

And the hummingbirds… I love watching these little creatures. Whenever there’s a lull in the rain, they come out to replenish.

Now it’s your turn. Have you ever been through a hurricane or other natural disaster? What did you do to prepare?

Mindy Obenhaus lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, the youngest of her five children and two dogs. She's passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. When she’s not writing, she enjoys cooking and spending time with her grandchildren. Learn more at www.MindyObenhaus.com