Hurricane Matthew is long gone, not even a speck on the map. After whirling around for a week the storm system dissolved into nothingness in the Atlantic. Although a power line downed by a tree left me without power, I was safe and snug in a protected metal building. Matthew was an adventure. Others, who lost loved ones and property, carried away a different perspective.

St. Augustine, FL

At OSBS, enormous trees fell. That is all part of nature’s cycle, but the dozens that fell on the road  trapped me on the station for a short time. Immediately after the hurricane I drove the roads on an HOV and marked the fallen trees on a map. Monday and Tuesday we removed the trees, a challenging task that involved sawing off limbs and hauling them by hand into the forest. The biggest trunks were dragged off by a tractor, the smaller ones cut up into firewood and stacked by the roadside. I did the “swamping”, which is dragging off the limbs. In the meantime, the electric company restored power.  After 40 hours without electricity, 4 days dealing with downed trees, and 6 days in my hurricane hideout I pulled Blue Moon back to our home in the woods.

Crisis times make for good people watching since everyone reacts in a unique way. I was the calm yet effusive one clapping my hands in a child-like way. “Oh goodie, a new adventure” I set up in a safe place with some good comfort food, lots of sewing projects, and I did not venture out for 24 hours. Fun!  One man and his wife sought shelter in one of our guest bunkhouses. The power blinked out shortly after they arrived, which was scary to them, out here in the deep dark woods. They decided to move to another building on-site and grabbed one of the 4-wheel trucks so they could navigate that sandy road. They told me later that trees were already blocking the road. They tried some other roads: same thing. They finally found their way to one of our gates and drove around through town. They noticed that the Subway was open, so had a sandwich, then drove around to the gate closest to the bunkhouse. No power at the electric gate. They also realized the wife left her purse at one the buildings, so they drove around the station again, dodging trees and finding a non-electric gate. More trees down. They navigated some backroads in and came to my shop hideaway. They related to me all their woes. They sat for awhile and then took off again, still looking for the purse. This was during the PEAK of the hurricane passage over our area, during the period of the highest winds.

I loved the power company guys. A convoy of  bodacious pick-ups, linemen trucks with those buckets they ride in, and flatbed trucks with new power poles rolled in.  At least a dozen men came in the convoy. They drove the station speed limit of 15 MPH, so those enormous trucks seemed to roll in slow motion. The guys were all thumbs up and chipper. They came to save the day. Lunch time arrived and the men came into the shop area to hang out. The crew boss brought in catered food: Styrofoam boxes with real BBQ pork sandwiches, mac/cheese, coleslaw and extra BBQ sauce on the side. They had two extra and gave them to me, which kept me well-nourished for a couple of days. I threw away the white buns and heated up the pork with the extra sauce. Nice hurricane treat.

And then there were these guys, surfing as Hurricane Matthew approached:

Our “ladies only” team was another source of delight. On Monday, the guys went off with the tractor to do the giant trees. The gals -me, the biologist Lisa, and secretary Vicki—took off to move the less daunting trees. Lisa is a few years younger than me and Vicki is middle-aged. Lisa operated the chainsaw while Vicki and I swamped. We busted butt like any guys would yet we chattered girl talk when we could hear each other. Sewing, kids, gossip, families. Life stories. Lisa’s goats and mules. Vicki’s land that they are rehabbing. We bonded around the chainsaw and as we drove through swampy areas infested with chiggers.

I took some time before the hurricane hit to set up a Jane’s Journals Facebook page and connect it to the blog. This worked out great when I lost computer power. I kept the cell phone changed from my solar charger and the van outlet and was able to keep everyone updated. The Facebook feed is visible to the right; however, most cell phones probably cut it off since the screens are smaller than a computer. That was a project I wanted to complete for some time. You don’t have to like the page to read it, just navigate to Janes Journals at the Facebook search box. Or, read it from the blog. All of my hurricane and clean-up photos are there, too!

Lots of RVers left the east coast of Florida. Some who owned land on the west coast offered a safe haven for other RVers. Several RV parks–one in Georgia, sent out offers for free or reduced fee sites for people in the affected areas. Because of the downed trees, fleeing was a wise choice for RVers. One of the first Florida deaths was a woman in her camper. A large tree fell on her rig and –poof–gone in a flash. Unless you are on the coast and experience tidal surge, trees are the biggest issue.

Thanks for all your notes and concern! Life is back to normal. I am off for seven days since I put in so many hours after the hurricane. Tango and I will go hiking on the Florida Trail for a few hours  and enjoy the blue skies and cool temps. Then, some new projects.