It’s An Ill Wind……..

We are in direct line from The Needles off the Isle of Wight. The heaviest gust of wind overnight sweeping through these iconic rocks was recorded at 109 miles per hour. Even this morning rains continued and the wind speeds were in excess of 70 m.p.h.

This was definitely a day for staying indoors and watching the Rugby World Cup final between England and South Africa.

Jackie braved the elements with her camera while I sat tensely on the TV sofa. After the match I made my contribution to the damp photography.

The weeping birch whipped across the sky in the direction of the crouching Cryptomeria.

The kitchen window wept.

Numerous flower pots had been thrown aside.

We had lain down all the patio furniture as a precaution. The white metal table, having been placed face to the ground had been picked up and tossed across the space.

In the Rose Garden the firmly fixed corner arch had toppled over.

Both Crown Princess Margareta

and Zefirini Drouhin still cling to their support, which we think in will be possible to right.

Even the compost bins have been wrecked.

Today it was an ill wind…… except for South Africa.

This evening we dined on Jackie’s spicy lamb jalfrezi and pilau rice with which she drank Hoegaarden and I drank Patrick Chodot Fleurie 2018.

83 comments

  1. Sorry to see the damage to the garden. We also moved as much as we could to places of relative safety but in the end I think the south coast probably fared worse than the west. I hope the roses and their arch can be successfully resurrected.

  2. Gosh, I’d no idea you’d had such bad winds, Derrick. Nothing like that in Devon, Somerset and Surrey where I’ve been during the past week, although plenty of dull and wet days. Pity we got blown away in Yokohama too!

  3. It looks to have been some very powerful winds. I am glad your home did not suffer any major damage. I too, am thinking (worrying) about little Nugget… Very glad you and Jackie are safe!

  4. That is murderous rampage in our favourite garden. Undoing misdeeds of the Ill Wind is going to keep you folks busy for a long while. Wish you the best.

  5. I am sorry to see all the destruction caused by the wind. The storms have been getting more intense here as well. I lost a greenhouse early this year from a windstorm.

      1. From what I saw in your photos, the damage does not look minor. You and Jackie will have much cleaning up to do.

        The worst storm damage we had was back in 2006 when a windstorm spun a huge black locust tree around (I watched it happen) and drop it across Rick’s van, not 30 minutes after he got home. We were lucky that time. Things could have been far worse.

  6. We had strong winds last week, too, but they weren’t so damaging. They were constant, and dropped the water level by about three or four feet, but the water’s back now. Our normal tidal range is only one to two feet — it’s the wind that causes particularly low or high tides.

    I hope the setting to rights goes easily, and that no permanent damage was done. Picking up after an event like that’s no fun.

      1. When wind-driven tides increase during a full moon, the doubled effect usually leads to water over a few local roads — everyone knows it, and adapts. When there’s a storm in the Gulf, rising water caused by winds offshore are the first sign of a hurricane. When Hurricane Ike was developing, it was watching the water rise — quite silently — under blue skies and sunshine that led me to evacuate a day early. I noticed the water on Tuesday. On Saturday, Ike demolished my town.

  7. I am pleased South Africa won the rugby – of course I am – but am sorry the English defeat was so crushing as evidenced in your garden. Hopefully you will be able to restore it to its former glory in time without too much effort.

  8. OH, no! and OH, my! 🙁 😮 So glad you two are safe. I’m so sorry to see that the wind was so mean. :-/ 🙁
    Wish we could all bring a picnic lunch to share, and come to help you and Jackie in the clean up process.
    Now, I’m really worried about Nugget! Have you seen him today?
    (((HUGS)))
    PS…On a walk today, Coop and I saw some robins in a tree…so I took two pics, with my phone, so I could show you. They are not good photos (I’m a lousy photographer), but I’ll post them the beginning of this new week for you to see. 🙂 I was so excited to see the robins! 🙂

    1. Thanks very much, Carolyn. The help team is a nice thought. Fortunately it is an Aaron day. I look forward to your post. I saw Nugget yesterday and Muggle this morning when filling the feeders. X

  9. A clearing up day ahead then Derrick. We had some heavy rain and a bit of wind but nothing quite so bad as that. Talking of bad things the Rugby was a disaster!

  10. I think the problem in most of our sports is the media. One marvellous victory over the tournament favourites and the cup is as good as won. They seem to forget that the other team want to win a medal too. On the other hand I would be the first to admit that I don’t really follow rugby, but this is certainly the pattern in the football.

  11. I see Jackieis never out of work but hope you can get good help from Aaron.
    We have a few sunny days with temperature close to zero.

  12. Sorry to see you garden looking so devastated, those winds are up to Cyclone levels. At worst Perth gets 110 Km/h coastal winds, probably down to 70-80 Km/h by the time it reaches me – nothing compared to those.

    Unbelievably we’ve had 4 days of rain showers in a row – most welcome, but unseasonal for the start of November?

    A pity (for you) about the Rugby, but at least my SA friend was pleased! 😉

    There’s always next year!

    Oh! No….wait……

  13. I’m glad you didn’t have any damage to your house though you’ll have to tidy up your garden. I hope Nugget and friends were OK.
    We had strong winds here, and there was a tornado outside of Philadelphia on Halloween night.

  14. Your area certainly does get a load of wind with your storms. Some of those flower pots aren’t all that small! I hope Nugget and Muggle were safely in their new homes!!

  15. A gardener’s work is never done. I’m sure Jackie and Aaron will have it fixed up in no time. Where were the robins during the storm? I was happy for South Africa and wish the England team had been more gracious and dignified at the medal ceremony. ?

  16. So glad it was Aaron’s regular day! That will help a lot. We had a lot of wind on Thursday night and I had candles and batteries at ready, but the power only flickered once. Not 70 mph, though–only gusting to 60 and sustaining something in the 40s. Lots of rain, though! and that made the garden happy. I hope things are all right soon and tucked up for a snug late fall.

  17. Nothing can be as deadly or do more damage than Mother Nature! It is shocking how she turned your lovely garden into a clean-up job. I appreciated your use of alliteration on your descriptions, such as “Crouching Cryptomerias” and the kitchen “Window Wept.”

  18. I can’t click “like” on this devastation!! It makes me cry! You work so hard on that beautiful garden. What a shame to see those strong winds creating such havoc. I am so sorry!!

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