Saturday, October 26, 2019

Storm! Power Failure!

Friday dawned drizzly, but at around 8:00 am, it started to blow and when there’s wind like there was yesterday morning, it’s scary when the trees are bending over and branches are snapping off and falling on the ground.
Looking out at my courtyard, all I can see is a sea of Fir needles, twigs and branches; everything is yellow/green with windfall. You’d never imagine that the courtyard is made of concrete paving stones. Even the roads were yellow with needles. There were times, outside, when I’d hold by breath because there was so much stuff in the air. Clouds of Fir needles, dense as snow in a Christmas dome, would be released by the strong gusts of wind.
When it blows, I turn up the music. I don’t want to hear the roar of the wind or the snapping sound as branches break.
At nine, I went to meet my fellow dog walkers and there were two new people with a really yappy dog. I had a seizure, even though I walked a ways behind. I hate having this condition, but I am getting to understand it. When I heard the relentless and loud  barking on my arrival, I knew I was in for trouble. God I hope those new people and their dogs don’t come back.
But … I felt strong during the seizure; I stayed on my feet and felt very solid and stable. And, for the first time ever, I kept my eyes open during the whole thing. They’re getting weaker and weaker, just very, very slowly.
At ten, the sun came blazing out from behind the clouds but the wind continued. I went to Jay’s to get his mail and check on his plants, and I did some shopping. I did some laundry, cut back plants and did some raking; all of it was a total pleasure. It’s joyous to have little jobs to do, but not a compulsion and endless one like I had all summer landscaping the backyard. I even managed to fix the front door handle.    



The blue/grey leaves are Rose Campion. They grow wild here; they were here when I moved in. Come Springtime, I’ll weed between them and lay in some new soil and plant some more wildflowers. I came on the Mushrooms as I was clearing away the stalks from last year’s Campion flowers. The photo with my hand is to give you an idea of their size, but it’s their colour that is so amazing.
I live streamed Greta Thunberg’s speech at the Vancouver Climate rally yesterday. She delivered her speech beside Severn Suzuki and quoted Severn’s words from twenty-seven years ago about the need for climate action. Severn was twelve at the time; she’s the activist daughter of a high-school friend. 
The crowd was absolutely huge! And what a stroke of brilliance: Several young students filed suit against the federal government over inaction on climate change just before Greta spoke.  
The power went on and off a few times later in the day when the wind picked up. At 7:30 it went out for good and so I went to bed around 9:00 and had a lot of trouble going to sleep. At 10:30 the power came back; my radio and lights were on, so I got up and read awhile before going back to bed.
This morning, it’s clear what I’ll be doing today: There’s a ton of stuff in the yard to clean up after the windstorm… and it’s still blowing (but not nearly as hard).

















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