Sunshine from Clouds (Redut)

Every day seems to be a replay of the day before, or the day before that. Sunny start means rain after lunch... or rainy start means sun around 3 p.m.

Today was the latter. I finally screwed up my determination and tackled the sump pump backup installation, knowing that the rain outside would soon be in our weeping tiles. Sure enough, about 30 minutes into the project, the volume tripled as if someone had opened a tap. Now, if the main pump fails, a second pump set 12" higher will kick in. Now to cover off the eventualities of a power failure while we're gone, etc., etc. Nah!

Following on the interrupted start of the backdoor deck, I was out in the sun by 8:40 Saturday morning. By 7:30 p.m., this is what the final result looked like. Now for a little lattice around the base and that project is complete.The deck serves as a step onto the porch, as a place to enjoy the sunrise, a home for the barbeque and, most importantly, hides the lid of the septic tank. I've built a nifty little lift-out section to access the tank for yearly servicing.

Back to today. After the skies cleared, it seemed like a good idea to start in on cleaning up the detritus of Friday's mini-tornado (or whatever you call winds of 90+ kph). On an evening walk in the rain with Fercos yesterday, I did a rough count of snapped or felled trees in the lower half of our property. That number is now on the order of 75-80. This includes dead trees all the way up to healthy trees with trunk bases of up to 20".

This trailer-load represents the canopy of one Balsam Poplar that went down near the front of the yard. One done, 70-some to go.This trespasser identified himself as The Orange Stihler.

"I got sunshine on a cloudy day..."

First, the weather report. Manitoba had a slew of warnings for wind, thunder storms, etc. today. Road 88N, though, was a sunny paradise for the morning. By 1:30, however, the winds had started shifting around, purple clouds passed to the west of us, it began to spit, and I put aside my work on the back-door deck.

I needed to go to Stonewall on some business. On arriving in town, I asked the insurance agent about the flooded intersections. She stated that she hadn't been able to see across the street 30 minutes ago. As I turned north for home, I flogged myself for not having acted on my thought of bringing a camera. The low north sky featured a long (perhaps 5 miles), thin, low-hanging black cloud with a purple bottom, bright white underbelly and blue-white cap. Oh, and lightning bursting from all sides. I found out later that Teulon to the north of us had been pelted with hail.Road 88N, however, was virtually untouched by moisture. But this is what greeted me as I turned onto the driveway.
Earlier today, it fell to my friend, Perry Nodelman, to point out the correct attribution for "Who has seen the wind," a poem I recalled from Grade 1 days. The effects of the day, seen in these pictures, may have been the literary gods retribution for my flawed memory. If so, "I really done a baaad thing."


As I took photos, I toted up the casualties: at least 24 trees were toppled or snapped halfway up. The power was out and the sump pit was already full (again). Happily, the effort in wiring in a transfer switch was fully rewarded. With the generator connected and fired up, the sump pump started up, as did the fridge, freezer and other necessary utilities.By 5:15 the power was back up and the driveway was again passable. That's when Smokey Robinson broke into "My Girl" under a once-again clear blue sky. The rest of the yard awaits chainsaw massacre tomorrow.Well, I have been making steadier progress on the deficiency list for the past couple of weeks. The verandah steps need only the railings to call that task complete. The sump pit will have a back-up pump joining the main pump this weekend, the back porch deck will be completed as soon as the weather cooperates, the laundry area will be complete as soon as Ikea ships the right doors, and, and, and. I may finish this project yet.