the terrible

Welcome back from summer. I am writing this email and there is a tropical rain storm outside. Water, water, water, and water are everywhere. Winds pick up and the omniscient, static yet stately greenery becomes animated to obnoxious levels. Top-heavy pines, growing as if to escape the ground beneath them, bend and sweep in a drunken fashion. Nature provides a beautiful danger.
Seems like Hurricane Ivan has not only caused harm typical of a storm this size and magnitude, but has also brought some additional challenge and mystery. In preparation for the approaching storm, the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo evacuated most but not all of its animals. Some animals were left behind. Among them, the waterfowl, 3 emus, and all the zoo’s reptiles. That includes 8 Burmese pythons, an anaconda and more than 12 Columbian red-tail boa constrictors. The Alabama Gulf Coast area recieved a direct hit from Ivan. Latest reports include roaming zoo animals.