A Brooding Sunset

This morning we were on Red Alert re storm Eunice. This means danger to life and likelihood of failing internet coverage. We therefore stayed indoors, although Jackie did venture onto the patio to rescue Jessie’s solar light gift. She could not even open the kitchen door and step the two metres to the hanging treasure until a brief lull in the gusts of 90+ m.p.h.

Thinking I may not be able to complete my daily diary I posted https://derrickjknight.com/2022/02/18/a-knights-tale-104-mordreds-development-and-various-publications/

Although the sun persevered for most of the day there was no rain, yet the gusts hit a new record of 122 m.p.h. through The Needles, about 5/6 miles as the crow flies to our garden.

Even taking a camera into the garden would have been dangerous, so I just took a few shots through the window panes.

The first is an image of a broken arch in the front garden, the clematis it was supporting hopefully lying intact on the ground; the second picture shows the swaying weeping birch for which we fear; and the next reveal fallen plant pots.

Soon after 4 p.m. a mahogany pall covered the firmament and sleet bounced off the fences I could see from my window.

Within half an hour the sun was back, the precipitation disappeared, and

three quarters of an hour later we were treated to a brooding sunset. I opened a bedroom casement window just enough to be able to poke my lens through it.

This evening we dined on Chicken breasts cooked in Nando’s piquant lemon sauce accompanied by Jackie’s tasty savoury rice with which she drank Hoegaarden and I drank more of the Côtes-du-Rhône.

89 comments

  1. Wow! That’s an amazing storm. I am glad you are well and safe. I remember the gusts in Northern Scotland during the winter/spring months; they were deadly. Never 122mph!

  2. Oh my! That’s scary. Are the wind gusts still going on?
    Beautiful brooding sunset.
    We have a wind advisory here into tomorrow, but the winds with possible gusts of 50 mph. That seems bad enough to me!

  3. I thought about you both all day today, and I’m delighted that all is well with you. I was worried that your beautiful garden would pay the price of Storm Eunice and have wind and rain damage.

    We have have had constant heavy rain, it’s running off the fields and is flooding out the back plus we are expecting rain/snow over the weekend. Our fingers are crossed that Joshua’s downstairs bedroom looking out onto the flood area doesn’t suffer too much, otherwise he’ll be moving next door into Victoria’s guest room! They have gone to the lakes for a few days.
    Hope all remains well with you overnight.

  4. Lovely shots, Derrick. Things have been interesting, and sadly fatal, in different parts of the country. I bet the scenes off the Needles would have been worth seeing – if it could be done safely! I am reliably informed that more weather is to come – for an indefinite period.

  5. We have had a lot of reporting about that darned Eunice. There certainly was a lot of damage, and the loss of life is sad to hear about.

  6. I’m glad you and Jackie have been playing it safe. The winds you describe sound like one of our hurricanes, though we’ve never had that much wind without a lot of rain.

  7. Your brooding sunset is beautiful – reports of the wind velocity scary. I can imagine it howling around the house accompanied by the clanging and crashing in the garden. It is amazing how some trees can be whipped about (almost turned inside out) by strong wind and then shake themselves back into shape. Your description of the storm serves to emphasise the cosiness within your home.

  8. I understand the gravity of the situation. Losing internet is simply not acceptable! At The Holler it happens whenever the ice makes the transmitter grumpy, which is lots of winter time. The captures are stunning. Stay warm and ride out the storm. Mother Nature is clearly not at all happy these days, and who can possibly blame her?

  9. So scary! 😮
    After erratic, exasperating, extreme Eunice tore through, the sunset had a right to brood.
    Sorry to see the damage.
    So glad Jackie could save the solar light!
    so so SO glad you all are safe.
    Let us know how you are doing this morning.
    (((HUGS)))

  10. We just had a news broadcast of the storm. Absolutely unbelievable. The image of a tree falling in front of a red double decker bus and a roof and a man being blown across a roadway. And the roof off the donut stadium. It is so hard to believe and the fact that you are safe is magnificent.

  11. It was quite a storm! Glad all is well and good luck when you venture into the garden today. Fingers crossed there’s not been too much damage.

  12. I’ve been talking to a few bloggers about the storm, and thankfully everyone is safe and sound. Today, you get to repair the damage. (it’s always something, eh?)

  13. I logged on this morning specifically to check on you two. I knew you would be reporting the weather. I heard about the storm on the news and was pleased to see it was a fast-moving storm and though mindbendingly fierce, it moved on. Your photos show that. Thank goodness. 122 mph is insanely high – I know, I have been inside a weather office when my equipment measured 121 mph outside. I am relieved that you both are well. Oh goodness, what a lot of work is ahead of you in the garden. Wish I could be there for Jackie to put me to work.

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