the storm

The storm wasn’t too bad here. We lost power for a day, but we were well prepared for it. We hardly missed it. We had the woodstove for cooking, and if need be, Ed was prepared to hook up the tractor to the water pump to pump water out of the well. But we didn’t have to do that, because we had saved enough water to drink, do dishes, flush the toilet, and other basic necessities.

Ed cut down a few poplar trees just before the storm hit. They were right near the big greenhouse, and the winds were blowing out of northeast, so if they fell, they would’ve damaged the greenhouse a lot. Ed said that poplar is not strong, and one of the trees was already dead. Still, I was a little sad to see them go. They stood like sentinels along the driveway.

Our little greenhouse suffered a bit of damage. The plastic that covers it was ripped, so we can’t use it anymore, but that’s not too bad.

We didn’t get much rain here, just under 1 inch, but the winds were very strong, probably the strongest we’ve ever experienced. I went just outside the door in a sheltered place after we lost power, when the storm was really raging, and watched for a while. It was quite awesome, witnessing all that power unleashed. I didn’t feel scared, just awed. Nature is amazing. We humans have done a lot of stupid things that are coming back to hurt us now in the form of natural disasters and other things, and, sadly, will continue to hurt our children and their children through no fault of their own. We have misused the gifts of Nature and as far as I can see still are, through blindness and greed and laziness. But, with or without us, Nature will always continue, it will regenerate in one shape or another, and in some way, I find that comforting.