Argh, what a way to start a week. Four years and just a few days is not enough time to prepare for another storm. Even if it is just a category one. Hurricane Nicholas was headed towards Boxes in Fields and while a category one storm is nothing, it is something all the same. Of course, Hurricane Harvey was only a category one storm when it started, too. Then it was a category five less than 36 hours later.

Not wanting to repeat last minute preparations, Boxes in Fields did what it needed to do in order vacate, if needed. Chickens were secured, trailer readied, and box hatched latched/welded into place. Shop Boxes still have yet to have outside secure points installed so they were once again welded into place. The Work Box and Kid Box windows and doors were lifted down off their posts and secured into place with their pins. With everything ready, we did the only thing we could do. We watched and waited, waited and watched. Oh, and talked on the phone as everyone and their mother was calling to offer places to stay and general support. Boxes in Fields has a great support team.

As with any storm, there is the devastating brunt force of the eye and the eye wall but then then there is also the good side and bad side of the eye wall. When Hurricane Harvey hit, while the eye wall hit less than two miles from Boxes in Fields, Boxes in Fields was on the good side of the eye wall meaning we took less damage. Hard to assess when it was such an off the chart storm but we were on the good side. Once again, Boxes in Fields was on the right side of the storm this year that worked its way up the Gulf coastline. Two days later we drove to the beach, the real beach not the man made beach down the street, as the storm had pushed further up the shoreline meaning once again Boxes in Fields was safe from yet another storm. Being on the good side of the storm meant the winds were low and the Gulf waters were pulled out offshore leaving calm seas. It was the most beautiful day ever at the beach. No peeps, no winds, no waves, no humidity, no storm, no stress, no worries.

Every year after each and every storm NOAA puts out a list of hurricane reports detailing the storm. In fact, on the NHC Data Archive there is more information and data and charts and graphs to make any nerd’s head explode. I find myself walking down the rabbit hole of geakdom every time I find myself on the website. It is a great site. It is an even better site because all the information on Hurricane Nicholas was not in relation to Boxes in Fields. Another successful year without a storm.