Buckling Down For the Storm

Well Sandy is supposed to be hitting this evening. I spent my morning bringing in more wood, filling up buckets with water, bringing everything inside that could blow away and generally just trying to be somewhat prepared. I got some studying in for orgo (I have an exam on Wednesday), and finished off a paper for my Radical American Women class. My dad and stepmother came over for a dinner of hamburgers prepared by the wonderful Jared, and we just sat around and had a very nice time. Dad and Mary helped me move the chicken coop to a little more protected spot, tie the pen to a tree, secure the house a little more fully and protect it by putting boards over the open chickenwire on the house. Hoping to keep them dry and somewhat warm. I will check on them as the storm progresses and make sure they are still doing alright. If need be I may employ the use of trash bags for water protection and lock them in the house to ride out the worst of it. Or move them to a dog cage in the garage, though it would be quite tight.

Gettysburg has, of course, not cancelled classes, though every other university, private or public, has conceded to the storm and shut down for at least tomorrow. I have got permission from my professors to Skype in to class if I still have power, and to move my lab to another day of the week. My professor on Tuesday said that if the weather is bad, we will not have class at all. The rest of my professors live very close to campus and will walk if need be. Considering they are now saying that being out past 2 pm will be life-threatening, I think I will choose to miss class for the first time in my life rather than get in another accident. Freshman year I was driving home in bad conditions and wrecked my pick up truck. I was very lucky to be entirely uninjured. I'm pretty sure I used all my luck up. So if I can be safe and still be a good student, I think I will do so!

Hope everyone else on the East Coast is preparing/has prepared, especially with their animals. Bring them inside if possible, and secure all horse trailers or things that could blow away!

See you on the bright side- I will let you know how we fare! 

~Melissa