Happy October!
What in the world happened to September? I missed a couple of weeks here in blog land for no particular reason – we were busy with appointments and family. And we read books and watched TV and ate good meals and went for walks in places that I've already blogged about a million times. So not-exactly-boring….just nothing much that seemed blog worthy. And then of course there was this past week …
Please note: (This may be a confusing post because the pictures are all from last week here in Oregon, even though all the rest of the words are about Florida.)
Oregon — October 2022
We spent a lot of time last week watching Hurricane Ian destroy much of the area where our winter home is located. I prefer not-exactly-boring any time. Our winter home is all the way across the country but we mostly watched local Fort Myers TV while sitting here in our Oregon living room. It gave us a slightly better picture than national news.
McDowell Park, Linn County Oregon October 1, 2022
We have been notified that our Florida Canal Cottage is still standing, but don't really have detailed news about its condition yet. The problem will probably be storm surge damage (water, mold etc.). There is still no electricity or water for the houses along the canal. Neighbors who live in our resort year-round were under evacuation orders and have been told not to return yet. (The majority of the residents are snow-birds like us.)
Majestic Falls, McDowell Park
No matter what we learn, we are fortunate to be where we are (and to have another place — out of the hurricane zone — to call home). As everyone knows by now, many people in the Fort Myers area were not so lucky.
Majestic Falls
Many homes and businesses in Fort Myers and Fort Myers Beach were destroyed. The beach front as we knew it is pretty much gone. Two of our favorite places to visit when we're living in Florida, Sanibel Island and Matlacha on Pine Island, have also suffered devastating damage. From what we've seen, it is hard to imagine exactly how they will ever be the same.
McDowell Park
So right now it's a waiting game. Waiting to hear from Florida, waiting to see when we will go back to Florida, waiting to see what the damages are, waiting to see what we can or should do about it all. But while we're waiting we are here and safe and Autumn is a beautiful season here in Oregon.
End of September Eugene Oregon 2022
However, right now at the beginning of October it still feels like late summer here in Eugene. It hasn't been cold enough to add much color and in fact most trees in our neighborhood are still fully-leaved and green. No doubt we'll still be here to get pictures when they turn.
LINKING this week to the following sharing opportunities. Thank you to the hosts:
MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES; THROUGH MY LENS; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; and FRIDAY BLISS
We appreciate all visitors and commenters! Thank you.