Friday, September 20, 2019

Whelming Flood

I'd had yesterday's post all ready for you, but things happened and it became another one of those whelming flood* days.  I changed directions, and rewrote the post, but in the end, I decided I just needed to not post it after all.

So what happened that caused me to become whelmed?  First of all, I found out one of my coworkers had a slight stroke.  He'd left work early Wednesday, not feeling well, and the word came back he'd had a stroke.  He's going to be OK, by the way.  I asked one of the supervisors if he had any update, because nobody tells us anything, and he said, "[Other Supervisor] saw him at McCallister's last night."

They'd given him that shot to dissolve the clot, and he was able to go home after only a few hours.  They say he'll be able to come back Monday.  Another coworker said his doctor told him he's going to have to give up one of his jobs, though, because he's stressing himself out.  Still, it's amazing how far medicine has advanced since my Grandma had her stroke that left her partially paralyzed for the rest of her life.

My excitement over that coworker's good news was dampened just a few moments later, when I found out another coworker has been diagnosed with cancer.  His wife also works out there, and we're as concerned about her as about him.  She's one of those people who just can't do anything for herself.  He has to do everything for her.  I don't think she even drives.  If something happens to him, who will care for her? 

What really caused the flood to get whelming, though, was the flooding -- the literal flooding in Texas.  Yes, thanks to Imelda, once again my hometown is under water.  I've managed to hear from all my family, and they're all safe.  None of their homes flooded this time around, however, I do have one high school friend who had a foot of water in her house.  She was heartbroken, because they'd just finished re-doing the floors.  I mean, like two weeks ago.

They are saying some areas flooded worse than when Harvey went through.  And I'm stuck here.  I'll admit, yesterday when the rain started, my first inclination was to get into the car and drive down there.  I don't know what the heck I thought I'd be able to do once I got there, but I wanted to go.  Cody messaged me this morning and said he's ready to drop everything and run, if anyone needed his help, and unlike mine, his boss would actually approve his time off to do just that. 

After all that, yesterday's post went in a completely different direction, but in the end, I didn't even post it.  Some days, you just need to rest on The Solid Rock.

I woke up today feeling a lot better -- even though once again, they've taken the rain out of our forecast.  It's so dry, even my drought resistant Moss Rose are dying.


This is the best looking one of the lot.  The rest are pretty sad.  They are so sad, I got out and watered everything this afternoon.

I wish I still had my old soaker hose, but I don't.   What I did instead was to just turn the water barely on, and let it drip for about half an hour.   My Vincas perked right up.


This is just a gratuitous shot of the deep purple Vincas.


This is a surprise, however.  This is a different kind of Moss Rose. 


It seeded from the one I had in my hanging basket last year. 

I got another surprise when I went out to fill my squirrel feeder.  Something has absconded with my suet cake holder.  I mean, the whole thing is gone.  I looked all over, even up in the trees.  It had to have been a raccoon.  I can't think of anything else that could have gotten it off the hook. 

That was balanced out by seeing one of my yearling bucks -- the 7 point, and he's out of velvet!  I couldn't get a good picture of him, because it was already pretty dark by the time I saw him, but still...he's out of velvet!

I haven't seen the 4 point, but I'm going to assume he's also out of velvet. 



*This phrase comes from the third verse of one of my favorite hymns The Solid Rock.  I first started using it shortly after the Boston Marathon Bombings, and the West fertilizer plant explosion.  

His oath, his covenant, his blood
Support me in the whelming flood
When all around my soul gives way
He then is all my hope and stay. 

















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