Charley is inshore now. It's currently moving NE across Charlotte Harbor, about 55 miles south of Sarasota.
The eye of the hurricane is a tightly-wound one, perhaps 20 miles across. That suggests that it's going to miss my area, at least with a direct hit. Winds are gusting here, but there's no obvious damage visible in my immediate area. Rain has been continuing at a steady, heavy pace for the past couple of hours, but it's not as heavy as some of the typical thunderstorms we get during the summer.
So far, so good, at least here. Electricity, phone and cable are still working.
I looked out onto my screened balcony a while ago and found a baby grey squirrel sitting inside, looking out. Damned if I can figure out how he got in. He was clearly more terrified of me than of the storm, so I left him along for about ten minutes. Next time I looked, he was gone.
