Thank you so much for thinking about us and sending "be well" thoughts our way. Our eastern end tip of the Island here (Long Island)is in a panic - long gas lines, long grocery lines. We've spent 2 days buckling down the yard (moving planters, furniture, etc). We have to bring our son to college tomorrow (8 hours north) so we won't even be home to greet Irene and of course that makes us nervous too. My 21 year old daughter will be holding done the fort.

Think good thoughts!
NANCY

Thanks for the good thoughts! I'm not in an evacuation area, but it looks like I'll be impacted by lots of wind and rain.

Right now, I need to figure how I'm going to get my plants in off the balcony - everything is lush and beautiful now, and my tomatoes are coming in, but still too small to pick. I don't want to lose my toms!

I think it'll be OK for tonight, though, so I'll spend the time making space inside.

Prepare for the worst and hope for the best!

PV

My boss emailed the team this morning and said to take whatever time we needed to make preparations for the storm. About half the 150+ winter sown perennials in pots that were on folding tables on my breezeway this morning are now safely tucked inside my garage along with all the bird feeders, birdhouses, birdbaths, wind chimes, hanging decorated slates & other outdoor tchochkes. My truck is inside the garage and the car will be tomorrow.

The forecast for Monday is sunny so I'm hoping Irene blows through fast and does minimal damage on the way. After dumping 8 ft. of snow on us this winter, then the earthquake just DAYS ago, does anyone else think it's a bit unfair of Mother Nature to send us a hurricane on top of everything else she's thrown at us in 2011? Just wondering...

PV - sure hope you find room inside for your toms. There's nothing quite like the taste of a home-grown tomato this time of year. I bought some avocados so I can at least have guacamole when the power goes out.

Thank You River. It's 9:00 p.m. the rain has started coming down. I think I am going to loose my Canna from too much rain.

We got a lot of food and water.

Be safe Everyone!

Please everyone, take care of yourselves, and your neighbors!

I pray its a case of expect the worst and be surprised it turns out to be less...

We've had plenty of coastal storms here, only one with hurricane force winds and its one I won't forget, or the days following either. The three most important things became sparkling clear immediately - its people, people, and people. Anything else can be replaced so please stay safe.

It's sad the way the media hype things to such a huge extent but I also understand it's human nature to take what they report with a grain of salt. I've been through a number of hurricanes, including H. Diane in 1954 which followed a path similar to the one Irene is currently on. With advance warning, people have time to make preparations and be safe. Will we lose power from Irene? No question. It only remains to be seen for how long, as in rural areas, that means no lights, no running water, no plumbing and no refrigeration. Oh, and no computer. I've got a sketchpad & pencil so I just might find the time to do some actual garden design instead of my usual 'plunk 'n run' method!

In high winds I do worry about the five 100 ft. tall oak trees that stand just 60 ft. from my house but I'd worry a whole lot more if they were pines.

My son called last night and we shared hurricane prep stories. He does have pine trees close to his house but he also has a shiny new chainsaw to cut them up if necessary. He reminded me that when H. Gloria roared through when he was in high school, we stood on our deck and threw tennis balls at a hornet's nest under the rain gutter as the eye of the storm passed. I'd forgotten he got stung. Five trees came down across the backyard that time and we were without power for a week. We fired up the woodstove and cooked scrambled eggs for breakfast on the top. It was inconvenient but not catastrophic.

I'm hoping the three large plastic storage bins I set under my gutters to catch the overflow will translate to less water in the cellar when the rain stops. I expect there will be some losses in the garden but accept that can't be helped and the fittest will survive.

Wishing the best for all those in Irene's path.

Well, this just totally bites! Check out this map of the projected path. For those not familiar with CT, that line in the middle goes right through my little green acre. Can't say I ever dreamed of being the bullseye on a target. Methinks Sunday is going to be a very, very nasty day...

Here is a link that might be useful: Irene's path through CT

Thanks for the good thoughts.
What I understand now (i'm in NJ) - is that Irene is downgraded to a Cat 1 storm which is good, but she is also very large and slow-moving, so the main damage may be from flooding. I am not particularly vulnerable to flooding (I think!) I am worried about downed power lines leading to no power. I saw that 220,000 people in N.Carolina/Virginia were now without power.
The more people out, the longer to restore. I have food and water, hate to lose communications, but there it is. Have to go out today and get small cans of cat food - I forgot that ms kitty's food also requires refrigeration.
(I can eat peanut butter. :)
But I do not want to be stuck indoors with a hungry cat!

Be safe all-
esp Nan and yr family, Long Island looks to be in for a direct hit.
Hopefully it will be very weakened by then.

We just had our first band of heavy rain come through. I've been running in and out gathering fruits from the garden. The hostas are happy, the cosmos are not.

I am too far west to expect anything but tropical storm wind, which sounds bad enough. DH went grocery shopping yesterday, and today I battened down the few jugs I had summersown seeds in, and picked any tomatoes that showed even a hint of orange. They will ripen as best they can on the counter and then be roasted with herbs and frozen.

I am not even sure we will lose our electricity... Our grid was upgraded/modernized a few years ago, and since then we never lose our electricity. We have a generator that will keep us going for a while if that happens.

Hope everyone who needs to has a safe place to go, and a good communication plan to stay in touch with your loved ones.

Please check back here after the storm and let us know how you got through.

We just had the second of two torrential downpours that lasted about 20 minutes each. I went out and bailed as much water from the storage bins under the gutters as I could throw away from the house & across the lawn. My rain gauges both show that an inch of rain has fallen so far. Forecast calls for another 5+ inches between now and when it's over. It also stubbornly continues to say 40-70 mph wind & 85 mph gusts. I expect to lose power between now and midnight and may not get it back for several days. I'll post back as often as I can between now and "lights out."

Take care, everyone.

I just read on CNN that "nearly a million" are wihout power.

Karen

Would love to hear from you north of me when you wake up - how you fared/are faring.

In NJ I have escaped unscathed (except for my flowers :but that is a small loss compared to others'.

We had heavy rain all night, continuing right now, but it is actually clearing up- the sky is lightening a little.

So I am hopeful the worse is over for me, and hope it is for you or will be soon.

The worst still has not hit in upstate NY. Rain is coming down and wind gusts now at 27 mph. We moved my small potted up seedlings into the greenhouse, now just have to cross my fingers the green house makes it through the storm. We lowered the fountain heads on the pond, years of experience has taught us the wind can blow the water from the fountains nearly draining them. Have had to rescue our fish more than once. Picked all my tomatoes that were blushing, still have a ton of green...hope the storm does not take them out.
Stay safe all and continue to check in if you can.

The sky is lightening up here now - I think the worst has passed, though it seems we might still get a bit of rain and more winds. Any more rain, and the water on my terrace will be over the door sill. Hoping not.

I managed to get all the plants off the terrace - they are now residing in my living room, bedroom and bathtub; a few found their way over to my neighbor as well. I always knew I had a lot out there, but having to bring them in really made it a bit TOO real! The way it looks, they'll be in for another day/night.

A good thing did come out of the whole process - I'll finally do the terrace clean up that I never seem to get to. Tossed a bunch of stuff yesterday (old pots, etc.) and I'll be very selective about what paraphernalia goes back out - probably toss some more. AND my floors will need a serious cleaning.

But, all's well that ends well.

Hope everyone else - especially those with flooding (seems there has been a lot of that) - fares well in the aftermath.

PV

When I first joined GW, maybe 14, 15 years ago, I made a plant trade for some cuttings of squiggly willow. They rooted well, I gave away a lot and kept two which I planted next to my garage, they are now down on the ground--they were about 25ft high, the trunks maybe a foot diameter. Oh well. It will be cut into next year's wood for the firepit. The willows, btw, are right next to this year's stack of firepit wood--how convenient, sigh. On the bright side (literally), once the willows are sliced and diced I'll have a clear area for planting ;-)

PV, I was just thinking the same thing, the worst looks over for NYC on the map at least. I am so glad that you see the sky lightening - thanks for telling us. H. Irene looks headed straight north toward gardenweed & New England unfortunately, but heavily populated Boston looks spared. Glad that you & everyone who has posted so far are ok. Sorry about your willows, Trudi.

I would ask certain people if they are ok but probably no power & no way to reply chez gardenweed, Nan on Long Island & maybe Ladyrose in NJ, which was hit hard, I think. I am just hoping everyone is ok & will report in on what is going on with them when they can.

I am fascinated by the iReports, please keep them coming!

Best wishes,
River

Here in eastern Massachusetts, we've escaped any significant difficulties. We are not in a flood zone at all and most trees around our property are not in a position to damage the house, maybe the garage, but just a small branch down near the back lot line so far. We are staying in and being productive which has been pleasant. I actually was hoping for more rain than we got. I think I might have gotten 3 or 4 inches only. The local ponds were looking a little low the other day and I have shrubs in the yard that have browned leaves, so the rain has been welcome. Hoping that others have fared as well.

Trudi, the only tree that ever came down in our neighborhood in 30 years here, was a willow tree. I've always heard they come down easily. At least they weren't large enough to fall on your house. I imagine you are already thinking about what you are going to plant. :-)

Praying that Eileene, nan, and ladyrose are fairing well,if their power is out,we will not know for a while yet.

With the exception of the gardens, we fared fairly well. However, a lot of the main streets are blocked off. Some cars are floating in water in low areas. We did not loose any electric. A lot of rain. No Downed trees near us.

My Sister, in Mamroneck, NY has no electric. Concerned about her.

My heart goes out to the victims and families that were deeply affected by the Hurricane.

Nice to hear from you ladyrose, I hope you hear from your sister soon,no news yet from Eileene,or Nan,I hope all is well with them.

I hope everyone is safe.I had to work through it driving up and down interstate 95 but I made it back to back I live 25 miles from the epicenter of the earthquake that was a shocker now the hurricane but now I'm out pickn greenbeans so all's good.I hope everyone had good luck..

I'm glad is sounds like everyone so far has made it through. Looking forward to others letting everyone know they are OK.

Cape Cod Checking In....
We are blessed... we are about 2 miles inland mid cape and got plenty of wind and very little rain. On the home front we were without power for about 15 seconds before the whole house generator started. (We need a generator as I am oxygen dependent.) The hood was without electricity for approximately 12 hours. Parts of the town are still without electrical power. Around town there are several large trees down and the flowers are mostly down for the season! My new beds look pretty sad but considering what could have been; we consider ourselves fortunate.

Dorothy (Meadows)

Here in metro-west Boston, we had intermittent heavy rain and wind, about 3-4 inches of rain and a couple gusts close to 60-70. Everything came thru A-OK, no property damage, no big limbs down, and no power loss.

However, I have a lot of big trees and they dropped about a gazillion leaves and small branches. My deck was literally carpeted in leaf clumps. Spent this morning cleaning up the gutters, deck, and back yard, and still have the front to do, which isn't as messy.