The tallest of the established old palms (Washingtonia robusta, Mexican Fan Palm) here in Wildewood Springs are still standing after the storm. Beth Price, photographer.
September 19, 2017
Terry and I boarded up and last-minute evacuated to North Carolina (where Hurricane Irma also took down many trees). We planned to stay in Wildewood and ride out the storm, and then Saturday morning, my daughter called to say that their friend who is the director of the NWS recommended evacuation: "the storm category and path is too close to call and dangerous."
Before leaving, I took a visiting family member (who boarded one of the last flights out of SRQ) to Save Our Birds on Longboat Key. All staff was facilitating the evacuation of birds to other shelters, and to certified falconry specialists' homes. Lisa, one of the rehabbers, was giving gentle hose showers to the Barred Owls to help them calm down. (Owls love gentle rain showers.) It worked.
This Screech Owl seemed to know that a storm was brewing.
We returned yesterday to find clean up has begun.
Surprising, the orchids remain in the trees! Some are a bit battered, and a couple need adjustments. But your memorials are snug. One, honoring Walter Goodrich's Mother, a variety I was told might not survive mounted in a tree—well, it's blooming!
