More Rain and Hurricanes

With hurricane season fast approaching, we decided that we needed to be a little more prepared. Lakewood Yacht Club was having a preparedness seminar this morning, so we decided to go. Back before we had puppies to consider, hurricane season wasn't that big of a deal. If we had to evacuate, which we had already done during Hurricane Ike, we just packed some things in a car and left. We didn't have to worry about where we were going and whether or not the destination would allow dogs. Now that we have animals, an evacuation would be a more complicated process. The problem with a hurricane is that you don't have any idea how long you are going to be away. If the hurricane just goes by, you may be able to return home in a day or two. If the hurricane hits your area, it could be weeks before you are even allowed back into the area. After Hurricane Ike, we couldn't even get back in to check on things for almost three weeks. Cats would be okay in your house with plenty of food and water for a day or two, but three weeks? No way! The puppies couldn't even make it comfortably for a day. So, this hurricane season, we need to be a little more prepared. We need to have a plan.

Hurricane preparedness seminar

We had a lot of fun. Mom has enjoyed hurricane season since she was a kid. Her aunt, who lived a few blocks from the beach in Galveston, had a magnetic hurricane tracking chart, and it was the coolest thing ever. So, when Mom moved to Galveston to go to college, she searched high and low until she found a cool magnetic hurricane tracking chart too. So, in our house, we have the most eclectic dining room ever. We have a wall of weapons- Dad's martial arts weapons- on one side, and a hurricane tracking chart and a barometer on the other side- Mom's.
When we got home from the hurricane preparedness seminar, we took the puppies outside and tried to tell them about bad weather and hurricanes. Miss M just laughed.

The puppies didn't really understand what a hurricane was. We tried to tell them it was like a really big storm. With all of our recent rain storms, they have a little bit of an idea of what rain is. We pointed out the storm clouds that were starting to roll in again.

We went back inside to continue our hurricane discussion. The sky kept getting darker and darker until all of a sudden, the lights went out. A few minutes after that, the rains and lightening started. We had to postpone our hurricane discussion until we could see again. The lights stayed off for almost two hours- just long enough for the house to start getting a little warm inside.

The clouds behind the houses across the street from us a little while before the lights went out

Finally, the power came back on and we were able to teach the puppies about tracking hurricanes.

Miss M wanted to know what all the writing said at the bottom of the chart. They haven't learned to read yet in puppy school, although I'm pretty sure they know what o-u-t and b-a-t-h spell.

Mr. M pointed out that hurricane categories no longer include specific storm surge along with wind speeds. He also wanted to know why the pesky laser pointer wouldn't leave the tracking chart alone.

Overall, I think it was a good lesson on hurricanes. Miss B agreed that she should think about which toys she would want to take in an evacuation. Miss S was concerned that we not leave the dog food behind. 
On a different note, this is why our tomatoes are struggling. Notice how the tomato cage isn't straight anymore. It doesn't help that the puppies have discovered that they like tomatoes.