Still without power

It seems the storm has calmed down, although the wind is still much stronger than normal. The humidity is starting to set in. A few minutes ago I went down to the front gate on foot to assess the damage there, taking photos of the other damage along the way. Before I went, I pulled up the board at the cattle guard that was preventing us from getting out of the main compound by means of any vehicle. By the time I had almost made it to the windmill, I was aware of a slow-moving SUV coming down the road. They were gawking at the damage, and admittedly there was quite a lot to look at. I couldn’t see the gate at first since the massive mesquite that used to stand by the roadside had been shattered and had fallen across the road. After I made my way around that, I found that the gate itself was half open. I looked at it sadly, afraid that the wind, in pushing it back, had damaged the machinery used to close it, but after tugging on it and finding it quite set in place, I went on through. Our beautiful ranch sign had been yanked from one of its chains and hung limply. Most surprisingly, the metal silhouette of an ostrich that stood on one side of the gate was bent all the way back from the force of the wind! I fixed the gate–it still worked due to its battery–although I had to help it shut by pulling it against the force of the wind (now coming from the east). Just to make sure, I put some chains on it. One of the most impressive sights I saw on my inspection trip was one of the old ostrich shelters: the tall, sturdy edifice was flat on the ground just as though some giant fist had come down and squashed it flat.

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