BACK YARD DESTRUCTION Poor Philomena, my Tree Philodendron . . . . . . which is I-don't-know-how-old, and had been thriving, grown taller than the fence. (Of course, the neighbor asked immediately when we were going to replace the fence, as his dog has to run in the yard.) A bit farther along . . . . . . our Laurel Oak lost a major limb and some smaller ones. These fallen fence panels give access to the street . . . . . . which means any alligators or coyotes wandering by could come in for a visit. The same neighbor claims that a coyote showed up on his ring doorbell two weeks later, and expressed "concern" for our dogs (who are never in the yard). The six-month drought we had this winter and spring killed several trees and bushes . . . . . . and as long as Pinellas County was picking up debris, we worked to cut them down and add them to our debris pile. Your tax dollars at work! (Yes, YOUR tax dollars; FEMA is reimbursing states for 100% of cleanup costs in all areas hit by H. Milton, many of which had not yet finished cleaning up after H. Helene.) The fence panels were soaked, so they were extra heavy . . . We knew the fence needed replacing, but had put it off. When we contacted the landscaping company on 8 November, we were told we were number 250 in line for a new fence. And this is just ONE company! Why so much fence destruction? Because . . . 1) Florida 'soil' is actually sand 2) Six months of drought, followed by 3) Three months of record-breaking rainss, plus 4) 100+ mph winds. We'd looked into replacing part of the wooden fencing with vinyl fencing, but the cost was phenomenal. So now we will replace the entire fence with a wood one. The dogs' bathroom pen . . . In the middle is a pump to take out water in excess of two inches. Of course, with no electricity, we couldn't pump out the water. WE HAVE NO ELECTRICITY.

HURRICANE MILTON, THE AFTERMATH:
THE BIRDS LIKE IT! HERE