Monday, July 7th - a wild windy weekend thanks to Arthur

Conditions at 5:30 am: 18' that feels more like23, calm and overcast
Expected later: sunshine and 25' that will seem more like 30'

Don't see many of these on the island!

What a weekend! We were expecting some company from Costa Rica on Friday afternoon. We'd gotten a message a week ago that they would be here by 6:00 on Friday afternoon. Lloyd called me at 4:30 to see if I'd heard from them, but neither of us had. It was very hot and he was planning to cook supper, but decided instead to have me pick up a pizza. We really weren't sure when they might be arriving. So I picked up the pizza and headed home. It was 6:05 when we sat down at the table and I said to him, watch, they'll drive up just as we start eating the pizza. The words were no sooner out of my mouth when I saw a vehicle come slowing down the road, then turn up the drive. Go figure! But it all worked out. We all shared the pizza while we caught up a bit, then while Lloyd visited with his sister and brother in law, I got busy making the quiche and salad we had originally planned, that we had later on. In the end it all worked out. What a tale they had to tell of their travels through El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, and on up to Canada. I have to say, they are much braver than I would have been. But they made it safe and sound and stopped for a couple of days before departing this morning for Newfoundland.

Fortunately this is the extend of the damage

It was extremely warm Friday night and we were anticipating the arrival of Hurricane or at least Tropical Storm Arthur. I woke up several times in the night expecting to hear lots of rain and high winds but none came. By morning it was still a fairly quiet day, although a bit breezy but nothing out of the ordinary for our area. Then around 10:00 am the winds picked up and got very blustery. The power was going off and then back on, from time to time, and finally in the early afternoon, it went off and stayed off. Good thing I have a gas stove that still allowed me to cook on the top. The guys moved the BBQ out into the garage and we put a chicken on there to cook, while the potatoes and vegetables were done inside. Part way through our supper, the power came back on and stayed on for the rest of the evening. We watched the 11:00 news and saw that other parts of the maritimes were quite severely hit but other than a few branches off the trees, and a piece of roofing off the little roof at the back, we didn't really get any. damages to speak of.

We were outside when a gust of wind blew over the oil tank BBQ

We woke up on Sunday morning and the power had gone off at 6:00 am. It was off pretty much until around
3:30 in the afternoon. In the morning, Brenda and Bernie came over and brought over some water, as we thought the inconvenience was over the night before, so hadn't stock piled any. They also brought over some fruit and fresh home made bread (that was a challenge for Brenda on Saturday with the power off and on)  and we all sat down to a breakfast of smoked sausages and eggs, yogurt and fruit and toast. Turns out the camping toaster works quite well on the gas stove-top. We were able to cook supper without incident. It appears the problem was with one of the poles out behind our house. A hydro truck came by and went up the back lane and then left. Later in the afternoon, another one came in followed shortly by another hauling  a new pole behind it. I took a walk back to see what was going on and they had replaced a pole and were reconnecting the wires. Sure enough, a short time later all was up and running finally. Lloyd, Heather and Kim had gone in to town but I stayed here so I knew what had transpired in their absence.

This morning, all is well. It's calm and slightly overcast but the sun should be peeking through soon. There at lots of small branches littering the yard that will need to be raked up later. Heather and Kim are going into town this morning then will be heading out on the ferry to catch the boat to Newfoundland. It's been quite a weekend.

Unfortunately due to the storm, the Cavendish Beach Music Festival was cancelled on Saturday. Our friend Patti, from Ontario had arrived earlier in the week to go so that was unfortunate. But at least she was at her cottage so she would have first hand knowledge of how it survived.  Another friend, texted me on Friday afternoon to tell me she was sitting on the airplane, right behind Chef Michael Smith and his family. She was pretty excited about that. She's here for the week and we'll see her on Tuesday for supper. Sunday was Chef Michael's  village feast so hopefully that went well in spite of the strong winds.

Now it's all back to normal. One little incident, the small pen where the baby chicks live outside, must have been lifted up by the wind and one of the chicks was crushed underneath the edge when Lloyd went out on Sunday morning. A second one was missing. Good old Cooper found her for us last night. Heather and I were outside and he was running around the little shed trying to get underneath. Lloyd went out with a flashlight and saw her under there. So between the two of us and a big stick, we were able to flush her out and get her back where she belongs. As Bernie said on Sunday, welcome to farming!