Gustav Gone

Yes, it came and visited for a day and then left without even saying thank you for the hospitality. And it used so much electricity while it was here that we had none for a week. Very ungrateful company, I think.

It did leave us with an abundant supply of fire wood, if you choose to render it the proper size. All in all, about 25 trees are either down on the ground or damaged so badly that they really should be shot and put out of their misery. We are currently delivering that kindness with Poulan and Stihl 16-inch instruments. You can almost hear the previously-shaded grass “Ohhhh, I can grow now!” in the new sunny places. The biggest grass we have, bamboo, did not fare well in the wind.

The dock stayed where it was tied, how I really don’t know. The wind topped out at about 90 mph gusts from directly across the river and should have blown the dock and everything up on the bank, but it didn’t. Of the eight ropes I had tied it with, only one was snapped. Go figure.

The river is at 7.0 feet at the Butte La Rose gauge, falling slowly. It didn’t rise for the storm. The Mississippi and Ohio are both rising big but shouldn’t last long.

Rise and Shine, Jim