left outside

I've been doing prep for the approaching hurricane... We're not in the direct path, but still expect lots of heavy rain and quite likely to loose power- trees around here come down a lot when the ground is super soggy. I've lashed my tithonias to the fence, and my tomato cages (even though there's only a few green tomatoes left). I brought a ton of potted plants inside so they won't get thrashed by the weather- but couldn't fit them all in window spaces. Outside got left my large pot of 'kiwi fern' coleus (the healthiest it's ever looked, this year) and one pot of nasturtium (don't know why I bother to try and shelter it, doesn't look so great anymore)

and all the pots of marigolds. I moved them to under the deck, against the wall, where they might not get beaten by wind and rain so much.

This one I wanted to take in the house- I'm not sure if the cuttings of it I planted around the yard are winter-hardy, so intend to save my original potted plant. But the scent is so strong it makes me feel unwell if it is inside for long- even from a different room, it pervades the house. So I wedged it outdoors between the woodpile and the house wall, where it should be protected from most of the weather.

Other plants I just tried to take some harvest so it's not a total loss if they get ruined. Picked a few nearly-ripe tomatoes. I cut back the lemon balm

and have the cuttings inside now- it's nice to not have to go out in the dark when it's time to make tea in the evening.

I cut back the sage and brought tops of stems inside to dry

I ought to dig carrots- they might start rotting- and cut green onions but first I had to bring indoors and find storage space for all the things like empty pots, rakes, shovels, etc and tie down the deck chairs and other stuff. My wheelbarrow is surprisingly lightweight. This was all before the weather forecast changed- when we were expecting 30+ mph winds here. Now, not so much. But I've already got it all stashed away or secured so might as well leave it so until the bad weather passes.

I also bought several battery-operated air pumps as backup for my aquariums. It will keep my filters running like normal if power goes out- the betta and angels would feel lack of heat, the others will be fine. I haven't used these before so I got different brands- two online, two from chain pet store A- and they ran fine, if a bit noisy. I still needed another (one for each tank plus two for the 45 which is still low flow but it should keep everyone alive) and stopped at chain store B- they carried a third brand. It was more expensive than the other ones, but I'd bought the last pair store A had.

I brought one home, and out of the box it was missing some parts (I suspect it had been returned and put back on the shelf). I took it back, got a replacement. Put batteries in it to test- it ran, super irritatingly noisy, but didn't push air through the filter, when I hooked it up to the corner filter in the 33 to see (the other battery pumps made this filter run just fine). So I took that one back as well, for a refund. Gah. I don't know why the more expensive pump failed me. I'm short one now, so if the power does go out, my tetras will just have to take their chances, and get extra water changes if I can.

In readiness- when I was still expecting the weather to hit us this morning- I did small partial water changes on all the tanks, in conjunction with rinsing out filters so crud wouldn't be sitting in the tanks if I couldn't hook up the battery pumps right away. Not sure if I'll need to use them anymore, but it's good to have around- can be used to transport fish safely in a bucket on a long drive, too, if needed someday.