Diva's Weekly Challenge #367 and Florence, the unwanted houseguest

The lights here have been flickering this morning, so I want to quickly post this.

Here in North Carolina we've had a frightful week with Hurricane Florence, who doesn't know when she's worn out her welcome, if she ever had one. Though she is now a tropical storm, she still lingers over our state. Lar and I live in Chapel Hill, which has been spared most of the destruction from her rain and winds. Our ground is completely saturated, which makes us a little nervous about all the surrounding trees, but we are grateful for being safe and dry, for having electricity and water. I am also grateful for the daily calls from friends in France who are checking to make sure we're okay. My gratitude journal has been a constant companion this week, on my lap as I sit in front of the news updates on TV.

The Diva's focus on N'Zeppl was a joy.

Starting Wednesday, my drawing had a definite spin going on. Thank you, Florence.

By Friday, we were starting to experience the hurricane's bands of wind and rain, and consequently, to see more debris from the trees.

Last night's drawing focused on the easy "Mooka" that Maria posted on the Mosaic app this week.

If you can send some loving thoughts to those touched by Florence's devastation, it would be greatly appreciated. At this point, 11 people have died, including a young mother and her infant. Sadly, the long awaited departure of the storm only means more danger, as evacuees try to regain their homes and fatigued rescuers deal with massive flooding of historic proportions. I also think about all the animals who were abandoned as their owners left in haste.

Thankful for you all, for the hundreds of folks who have come from across the country to help, for the outpouring of concern and well-wishes, I want to pass on one comment from a respected meteorologist here in our area. "Hurricanes exist in order to re-distribute an excess of heat that has accumulated over the ocean. When there is too much heat for the planet, a hurricane forms to pick it up and move it to an area with less heat." We must learn to respect our relationship with the planet, to understand that the planet is an entity with an operating system that supersedes our imagined needs for fossil fuel produced energy. I'm hoping that we can move to put more resources in environmental protection and eventually lessen our need for emergency management, and that the three or four hurricanes still off the coast will weaken and disperse.