Last year, when Isabel hit, I wasn't even here! But I had left very specific instructions with my plant-sitter on what to do. (Since he was my brother, he followed the instructions to the letter - otherwise......lol!)

This year, I'm just eyeing the situation, so far. I'll definitely bring my peppers indoors - trying some new varieties of chiles this year, and have no intention of losing them. Maybe the fig too, although the tree is so wide that might be a problem. Depends on how strong the winds are. And I'll put my windowboxes on the floor of the terrace.

Just about everything else will be hauled back from the railing and bunched together, hoping for the best. I've already put a few more cable ties on the expandable trellis to lash it more securely to the railing; my johnny-built bamboo trellis last year held up to Isabel, so I'm not too worried about this one.

Maybe after Charley passes through, we can have a good what's-left-of-summer?? I hope so....

PV

(blush) Well, I haven't done a thing except bemoan the advent of yet more rain. I am going to go out right now and bring in my first-year crape myrtle, which hasn't bloomed but looks very healthy. I don't have many 'movable' perennials, most are in pots I couldn't possibly haul inside. I will also bring in the tray of cuttings I recently took which were sitting under an umbrella, and probably everything I have in pots small enough for me to haul inside. Things are looking bad enough as it is due to all the rain lately, and with a few weeks left, I'd like to keep anything that's looking nice. Wish I could move my window boxes, since they have a tendency to tip over in heavy winds (at least in winter storms they have done this) but they are too heavy for me to lift and, of course, hubby is away on a business trip :-( Not much room in the apartment, so I guess they all go in the bathtub and no shower for me tonight :-D

Ohmygosh, the baskets hanging in front of the windows! They could conceivably break the glass if the wind is strong enough? Hope I can lift them down!

Thanks, Jenny ... don't know where my head was.

PV - My poor figs had almost defoliated earlier this summer from some strong winds so since they have finally started growing leaves again (plus they are popping out figs), I hauled them just inside my balcony door. I will haul the crape in too once the wind starts since it had gotten almost defoliated earlier as well with the figs (I just sprayed it for PM and it's finally getting ready to bloom - a bit late).

Meg - yeah, I think we are all so involved in so many other things that things like that slip our minds! That's why I did my mental check this morning because I know inevitably I'd forget something and there I would be, running out on the soaking wet balcony in the windy whipping rain, in the pitch black, trying to drag some wet plant that fell over, inside! LOL

I left my hanging hoyas out because they are well back from the rail and in the far eastern corner and should be okay there. The hibiscus came in (that's a nuisance to move but it defoliates in wind real easily). I'm going to leave the passifloras out because they are already back from the rail and made it through Isabel last year. The habs came in as well as the oleander, the Stephanotis, a fuchsia, a lantana, a plumie, 2 christmas cactuses, and a pointsetta that I had rescued out of the trashroom this past spring (LOL). I'm leaving the EEs out there as well as my white bird of paradise and my prickly pear cactus (which I pulled back from the rail). I'll bring in the gardenia as soon as it gets dark (it's been drizzling on and off).

The rest of the stuff can get rained on including the coffee plant (it should love that since those shrubs supposedly like something like 70+ inches of rain per year... LOL).

I'm surprised my building didn't put up notices about the balconies like they did last year in preparation for Isabel, considering I know a bunch of folks have umbrellas out there (and they're open too...). Oh well...

I guess we'll have to hang on and see what happens. I know that when Bonnie came by, we didn't even get any rain at all, which was somewhat surprising given the hype around here about her...

Well, it's pouring something serious in DC right now, but no wind to speak of. I brought in the empty pots (finally) but everything else is still out there. (Most things with flight potential are tied down though.) We shall see. The rest of summer would be welcome - I think I could've counted the sunny days in July on one hand.

Seems we are escaping severity, Charley has sort of veered to sea instead of heading inland as predicted.

Looks like in PA you did all that work for nothing, Jenny :~(

From what I had understood here, it would track just off the Jersey coast, which it did do. However back where we were, between the stalled cold front and the jet stream, there was a sharp divide that produced a wind sheer that kept the bulk of it just east of us. We officially got about 1/2" rain overnight though.

I think that many in this area are relieved considering we're still cleaning up and repairing damage after an August 1 storm, where parts of the city (including where I live) got hit hard. In fact one of the streets that goes alongside my building's property that I normally use to go to work, is still blocked off due to the damage from the flooding. That morning it looked like this just outside my building (the intersection was impassable and I watched cars try to go through that and stall out in the middle of it, some even floating, including that black car that tried it):

{{gwi:3637}}

{{gwi:3639}}

That's why I think people around here are taking no chances since the above storm came totally out of nowhere with no NWS "watches" or "warnings" or anything. It just HIT and caught people unawares.

Well... This is one down, 2 more (Danielle and Earl) to go. ;-)

Always better safe than sorry ......

I did bring my peppers inside early; when it seemed like the wind was not going to happen, I left everything else outside. Got some heavy rains, but little else.

Does anyone remember the name of that storm that meandered all over the place, for quite a long time, a couple of years ago?

PV

PV - I think that may have been {{gwi:3631}}, which if that is what you meant, it was almost 10 years ago. LOL

Nah, not Felix. The one I'm talking about happened 2-3 years ago....

How about "Floyd"?

Or {{gwi:3633}} in 2001 that never made it to hurricane status but flooded out Texas and everywhere it went through the SE and up through the mid-atlantic (including us here) and beyond. It did last almost 2 weeks from start to finish.

I'm thinking maybe Georges in 1998, or Dean in 2001 - can't for the life of me remember the name!

The one name I will remember until I die is HUGO! That one I lived through......

PV