I'm sure the hurricane Igor business has been beaten to death in the media, so I won't go on about it. The early effect were evident on Monday night as I got out from my regular showing up by the geriatric crowd at basketball. The wind had whipped up and it was raining heavily. This continued into Tuesday morning and the schools and many businesses remained closed. Many thought this a bit drastic as we had seen higher winds here before. By Tuesday afternoon, though, other places were closing down as the winds increased and came at us from the north. This is unusual as they normally hit us from the west or south. It was plain to see on a radar map that the hurricane was swirling past us on the east spinning counter0clockwise and battering us from the north.
Photo courtesy of Zach Goudie of the CBC
We didn't fare too bad as only our birch tree snapped off and fell away from the house (not as dramatic as the photo above). We lost a small section of gutter from the shed and an end cap from one of the gutters on the house. We lost Internet service for about a day and are still trying to make the wireless connection work from my work computer to the house computer. Our cable was also out for about 24 hours. All of this, though, is minor inconvenience compared to the damage felt in other parts of the province.
Some areas are still without power and water and are effectively cut off from the rest of the island due to washed out roads and bridges. The Prime Minister toured some of the damaged areas yesterday and has promised assistance from the armed forces. There are lots of photos of the destruction here so I won't bother posting them. I'll throw up a few links to news stories on the CBC and Telegram web sites and you can visit them if you choose.
Instead, I will post carefree and happy doggy photos from our recent visit to the fundraising 'greyhound picnic' held recently here in St. John's by the Newfoundland branch of GPAC (Greyhound Pets of Atlantic Canada). The silent auction, tickets sales for prizes, hot dog and hamburger sales and the bake sale all contributed to making over $3400 for the agency. Nothing quite like 34 greyhounds in a room, silently walking about sniffing each other's gear. Things livened up when someone started a sing-along for the dogs and the yodelling began. Our crazy dog was actually scared by all the noise and buried his face into my leg. Sean purchased a Rapala fishing rod and a case of beer in the silent auction (I of course, as any conscientious parent would do, confiscated the beer).
I hope to find some time this weekend to visit and comment at the blogs of my friends.
17 comments:
That picture of uprooted trees is amazing. Ground was just scalped!
Love the greyhounds. Laughed at the picture where it looks like two of them are eying the hot dog. :)
Doggies!
I mean *ahem* What nice photos. Sounds like a good time was had by all, people and dogs alike. A much better time than Igor provided, for sure.
Glad to see you're still ok. Awesome first picture!
Caption for second picture down of the dogs....
"Hey, dude, your neckerchief is too low down. You won't win nothin'..."
Caption for fourth picture....
"Does my bum look big in this?"
Glad all is well my friend.
Regards, David.
I'm glad to hear you and your family are safe and warm and dry. Unbelievable photos. My god.
And the dogs, well, that's just awesome. Love the fireman coat hahaha!
Squeeee! I love greyhounds. They're the only other dog breed besides chihuahuas that I appreciate the need for dressing them in a sweater when it's cold. They just look so pitiful when they shiver. But I still think it should be a low key garment. Something that doesn't embarrass the dog. I have friends with greyhounds and when it's below freezing they wear matching coats, the couple and their two dogs. That....well, that kinda falls into the iffy area for me...laughing..
Glad you're ok. Thanks for the photos.
:0)
Marisa- Yep, amazing what a bit of wind will do. And I daresay a few hotdogs were consumed by greyhounds down by the BBQ kiosk.
Laurita- Glad you maintained your decorum. Lots of different doggie personalities at that event. They're doing another fundraiser soon at the Glacier.
David- Thanks, we weathered it pretty well. I laughed at your fourth pic caption about the dog's bum looking big. As a matter of fact, that female won the 'best costume' for those dogs that dressed up for the fashion show (not my cup of tea).
Katey- Thanks, Katey. And I thought only DC got all the inclement weather! Personally, I thought the fireman outfit should have been the winner.
Karen- Our dog, Jet, has a fleece-lined red coat for the cold weather. I don't like to embarass him with the dress-up show. They're far too noble creatures for that (they estimate they go back to Egypt 4000yrs ago). And thanks, we're doing OK.
Lovely doggy pictures! I wish there was such event around here, although in my case it'd have to be open to all races. Or better yet, to no race at all, heh.
I'm glad your trees weren't in such bad shape as the ones in the picture, (cool pic, btw!) and also that you and your family are ok despite the inconveniences. I don't know if I'd be able to live in an area infested by hurricanes... O.O
Okay. Greyhounds? Adorable....they look like they're all grinning. And the one in the miniskirt? To die for. What a riot!
But that first photo? It looks like some God reached down and was placing some artificial turf with some built-in trees into place and got distracted by the hot UPS guy ringing the doorbell.
(Where did *that* come from?)
I love the first picture! The dog on the right has a very sly look about him/her ; )
Such cute pooches, Alan...
After reading this, it really makes me feel just so special that you took the time to read my story this week. Love the doggy photos. I've been to one of those types of events once as a spectator.
Mari- If they had an event like that in your area it would be with Italian Greyhounds ;) They say that is the worst storm here in decades (glad it's not a yearly thing).
Kathryn- The miniskirt was actually a workout outfit for a gym. She was a really friendly dog...and they do seem to smile a lot. Umm...were you speaking of a God in the femanine?
Nat- I've found that greyhounds either look very sneaky or sort of stunned most of the time.
Ant- Yeah, it's interesting when you get a room-full of them together like that. The owners are kind of odd as well...
Rachel- I enjoy the yearly event. It makes for a good fundraiser for the rescue agency as well.
I fel awful, I didn't even know there was a Hurricane Ivor. Hope all is okay now.
I love doggies!
No clue what you wrote, guess I better go back and read it. I got sucked into the puppy pics. Oops! :D
:p
Aww, there was a contingent from WAG in the parade here in town. Its a greyhound rescue league, though the dogs looked a little embarassed. The owners had all sorts of - what I am sure they thought were - cute little jackets on them, despite the heat.
I've been reading your newspaper since you posted a link to it. Igor really did a number up there.
Alan, glad to hear you guys are safe and suffered little damage.
Cate- Some folks got his worse than others. They are still working to get all the small communities linked with the main highways. We are doing OK here in the big city.
Kat- Cute doggies, but they're not exactly lap dogs. Sure run fast, though...
Joni- That's very true about greyhounds. They either look embarassed or sneaky all the time. We'll be suiting ours up in his jacket soon. The greyhounds here are brought up from the New England states.
Danielle- Thanks, things are mostly back to normal now for us.
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