We ONLY lost power for 5 1/2 days. When friends and neighbors are without electricity for six, seven, even eight days, anything less feels like a gift.

Before I met Irene, my hurricane preparations consisted of stowing the patio furniture and outside toys. Needless to say the list has grown substantially and now includes:  

• Clean and refill the hummingbird feeders. Our family was amazed to watch these fantastic flyers almost unphased by Irene's strongest gusts.Wish I had charged the camera battery.

• Charge the camera battery to capture Mother Nature at her wildest.
• Buy a thermometer for the refrigerator - wouldn't it be great if they came with one?
• Freeze drinks (like opened jugs of milk and juice) and juice tanks. Move the frozen blocks to refrigerator to keep the temp down.
• Buy more glow sticks. Nothing takes the scary out of a dark night better than hanging colorful, glowing bracelets on door knobs throughout the house.
• Wash and dry all dirty laundry. Having just returned from a week-long camping trip with a mountain of dirty laundry, I regretted not getting it done for days.

Now, a quick post-hurricane checklist:

• Call someone to help clear downed trees and limbs that are not near electrical lines. My dear husband heard the call, clearing our driveway of three trees. Soon he'll get to the blowdowns in the woods. Our wood pile thanks Irene.
• Clean up windblown debris. Like everyone else, we raked the driveway and lawn to remove hundreds of hickory nuts, thousands of acorns and millions of leaves. We also spotted several toads hopping around. 
• Locate a trusted friend or relative with electricity. By day 3 power was back at work, but not at home or preschool. We shipped the kiddos off to Aunty's house for the night and their first sleep-over at their cousins' house. Definitely a win-win situation.
• Ask anyone you know who has electricity to freeze blocks of ice (empty gallon jugs and zipper freezer bags.) Pack them in the refrigerator. Even running the generator frequently, our fridge didn't stay cold enough.

In the garden...

• Cleanly cut branches that are partially broken to prevent disease and rot.
• Inspect garden structures like arbors and trellises for damage. Ours were all toppled in the gusts.
• Stand up plants that are laying down. Stake them and pack soil around base and reset the roots. A fresh layer of topsoil will give your plants a little boost.
• Stems that are bent should be clipped. Plants that were heavily damaged, may need to be replaced. We have a lovely selection of plants for you.
• Remove damaged branches and leaves.
• Find recipes for green tomatoes.
• Many people in the Ocean State live close enough to the ocean that the wind may have driven salty water onto your plants.
• Once you have running water, rinse plants thoroughly.
• Apply fast acting gypsum to your plants to repair salt damage, promote healthy root growth, loosen clay soils and maximize fertilizers.
  
• If Irene's rains washed out your mulch, you may need to rake it back and fluff it out.
• Discourage mosquitos from breeding by draining any standing water, even the smallest of puddles.
• Turn your compost pile to mix in your recent additions.

Hopefully you won't need to put this advice to use for a very, very long time.

Thank you, Irene, for sparing us your full fury.
by Renee C, Brannigan