After the Hurricane

I fancy there are great underground palaces, hidden away from us insane humans, the lunatics who prowl the earth and seek and destroy all that is good.

And these palaces have food and comfort and choirs singing joyfully. While way up above the two legged cretins get on with the business of killing each other while sucking the last and the best out of Gaia, belching forth the toxic fumes that swathe the earth in dark menacing clouds. And making those eerie, loud and painful noises up above in the sky, on the ground and in the oceans that offend sensitive ears and choke the nostrils.

Down there it is safe and warm. Even in the eye of the hurricane that seems like a distant thunder overhead.

And after the storm is over, the scouts - this week it is the bluejays - on duty are sent above ground to survey the damage and gather food to share at the great banquet tonight, for it is Saturday and there is always a banquet and music on a Saturday night.

Hurricane Igor - Update

Trans Canada Highway collapse - photo courtesy CBC

Power is finally back on in the last few minutes.

How dependent we are on the power grid! I am lucky I have a woodstove but so many are not. I am hoping my chest freezer is OK, I did not open it and understand that it's good for about 24 hours if not opened.

We escaped lightly in this little village. The worst damage was with old trees completely uprooted like matchsticks so people today are busy doing cleanup, chopping and sawing. The sides were blown off the community hall and one shop is losing its vast back and side walls of frozen products. The generator just couldn't handle the requirements.

The rest of our lovely province hasn't fared so well. Some are still living in their town firehalls, cut off by the savagery of the flooding from their own houses. Some were tourists and travellers forced off the Trans Canada Highway by the incredible floods, collapsed portions of the TCH, downed trees and blazing hydro wires.

According to the old timers, they've never seen the like of this. Damage in the tens of millions. Many still without power, but we are so, so lucky, only one death has been reported so far.

Oh lovely, lovely home and my stalwart old trees for only shedding a few old branches and the uprooting of one young (15'footer)beech!

Thanks to all for your lovely thoughts and safe wishes to me. It means so much!

Hurricane Igor

Photo courtesy CBC of the St. Lawrence area not too far from here.

Yeah, it's here. Igor has hit and he's brought some really strange weather. House so warm within and so wet outside that all windows are fogged up. The trees sway as their still green leaves get wrenched and thrown at the windows in handfuls.

My niece, who lives about 400km from here tells me her roads are washed out, she ventured out briefly and saw cars floating in the water, something she'd never seen before. She turned and went home. All of her town has folded up into itself, many have lost their homes. Her brand new home has roof leaks, but it could be the force of the wind.

Here we are slightly more sheltered but it is still an awesome sound with a frisson of uncertainty as the windows, under the pressure of the wind, leak in odd places. The roof, so far, is solid.

Only the odd dudely truck rolls by on the streaming flooded road. The stream across from my house has burst its banks, the bay is a mass of whitecaps. If the windows were clear I would try and capture it. I have never seen it like this, a complete turmoil of white and grey flowing in with the north wind.

With all of this maelstrom around, I feel grateful that we are far better off than the unfortunates of Bermuda.

The power is still on, with emergency supplies standing by and the woodstove ready to be fired up.

I'm dry and safe within broken by the odd accusing look from the dog.

You see, in her world, this is all my fault.

**Update - 4.40pm my time
Now the power is out. I have large battery back up and I am on "turbo stick" for internet and had the sense to stockpile a bit of water this morning as my pump is now down and also landline is out. Lots of candles and battery radio. CBC is going to stay with us until it is over but it is on generator power only as all of St. John's now in blackout along with all of the Avalon. Wind is frightening, small branches flung like matchsticks off my trees. Oh, we are such midgets in the force of awesome Mother Nature.
**Update - 7.10pm my time
Well the sun peeped out amongst the speeding clouds for a few minutes. Radio says the rain storm is now over and another two hours of wind. Hurricane has been downsized as of now to a tropical storm. Leo came over and started picking up the branches around the place and then stopped as the wind picked up again. Mr. Igor is not done with us yet.