Fire up the Ark!

Fire up the ark, the parched and deeply cracked soils of the dried ponds, lakes and streams are once again breathing life, gulping in the torrential rains of this unruly, unpredictable and lazy tropical storm, known as Debby. The earth is alive with activity, the skies as well, with clouds traveling at dizzying speeds, dumping deluges of water and spawning tornadoes wrapped within the menacing storm clouds. This normally quiet, passive tropical paradise with its endless nighttime skies, alive with shooting stars, warm summer breezes and brilliant moon lite nights, its silhouettes of graceful palms, swaying gently in the warm humid air of a tropical evening, is currently in a state of madness, a frenzy, a definite cleansing!

Flooding of "biblical" proportions has covered the area. We are thankful not to have beachfront property, although as I look out my kitchen window, water is lapping at the edge of the yard about fifteen feet from the house. The beach is coming to us! Luckily the yard is pitched so it is doubtful the water will arrive anytime soon. What has arrived is the mass migration of creatures living within the flood zone, otherwise known as the tropical preserve, with is rainforest canopy no longer protecting the residents. They search for the elusive dry spot...........don't they know, I am not into sharing my spot!

Two small children of a very ticked off Mother Nature, are welcomed. They zoom, they flit and fly about between the pounding rain, seeking refuge and food. Having found both beneath the roof covered driveway of our yard, these adorable ruby-throated hummingbirds zoom from one potted flowering plant to another. If in the world of little hummingbirds, there is a lottery, they have just hit the jackpot!

Earlier today as cabin fever began to lead to a mushy soaked sogginess of the brain, we ventured out into the neighborhood. The roads overflowing with water and critters primping, preening and playing in the coolness of the cloud covered skies. If only for a moment the rains subsided, the trees and grasses breathing, soaking in all this freshness, seemed to instantly turn a sparkling and radiant emerald green. In all it's fury, the howling winds, the pounding rains have washed the landscape, it is renewed, most of it has survived unscathed, perhaps with a few less leaves in their canopies.

Mostly it is the material children of the earth that have been battered. Those that did not heed the warning to "batten down the hatches"will begin the process of cleaning up the results. For the most part, this community was spared. Water, water everywhere, but no trees succumbed to the winds. Others less than a mile or two west of us, hit with a smaller tornado as a reminder of what could have been much worse!

As evening set in, the airwaves reporting the entire region again under a tornado watch! Rains for the moment have subsided, winds still gusty, clouds still menacing, Debby refusing to leave, she too "in love" with this tropical paradise or perhaps she seeks revenge on those that have abused her Mother, Nature that is!