We were not sure it was coming our way… the wind became stronger and the local fruit farmers started ‘shooting’ at the storm. But to no avail. It started raining and we went inside. Suddenly it was almost totally dark, at 6pm! Normally it is that dark at 10pm or 9.30pm. And then the hell broke loose!
We are accustomed to have some drips of rain in the summer kitchen, because that’s the piece of the house that will be demolished anyway; but now! !!! The wind came straigth from the nord, hitting the house full on in the back. The rain was streaming from the roofs, not even going through the gutters were we have them! Suddenly it was dripping everywhere and the water was blown underneath the door, soon the whole floor full of water…
After the storm settled down and we had cleaned up the mess inside we went to have a look outside…
a broken roof tile from the workshop
This is were the title should have been!
one dead branch fallen off
vegetable nicely combed by the wind and rain
this should be corn standing upright...
the roof for the tomatoes...
who trew these apples?
worst of all, one of our nut trees was laid down!
the good thing: our heart-shaped pond was filled for the first time!
More pictures to find here. And we do have electricity, but still no running water?!? One more reason to make sure we harvest lots of rainwater in the future!
Dorpsstraat 
Ik was net met de fiets vertrokken aan het station toen het losbarstte. Ben gaan schuilen aan het tankstation, indrukwekkend hoe de intensiteit van het onweer maar bleef toenemen.
Hier nog geen schade gezien, maar ik moet morgen buiten nog een kijkje gaan nemen.
Spijtig van de notelaar. En hopelijk komt het stromend water gauw terug!
Ah, here in Chaudfontaine, the storm more or less passed us by. Thank you for reporting so promptly, Ria! I grieve for the walnut tree. I guess it’s time to use the chainsaw. Good to be reminded of what can happen when Gaia turns over in bed… I’ll be with you on Sunday.
A little conversation was going on on Facebook. Here is my answer to some questions raised by Hala Makarem:
In answer to your question Hala, of how it did feel… it was quite unusual that darkness, so it pointed out that something serious was going to happen. Both Chrisje and I were not afraid, more like bracing ourselves – unplugging most of the electrical supplies – and we were curious; watching through the window what was going to happen. But soon all our attention went to stop the water of entering that room and making sure nothing got wet that we didn’t want to. I think the preparation is to stay grounded and also to have ‘stuff’ around – extra buckets, old cloths that are wort nothing but helped us enormously to keep the water out, having at least rainwater when the normal water supply stopped for a few hours etc. In one sentence: Be prepared!
Such good lessons, Ria! I also had another realisation. Here in Chaudfontaine, where I am attending sara’s wedding, there is an ENORMOUS plane tree. A real big mother tree, with a trunk like 8 people around and branches that spread out over 10 metres or more. I felt drawn to go an introduce myself, connect to the tree, stand under it, touch its bark, allow it to harmonise my aura… and as I left it, it gifted me with a beautiful straight talking stick. When I was grieving for the walnut tree, I suddenly realised that I have never connected individually with all the trees on our land. Doh!!!!! I don’t know if it would have made a difference, but my god, I’ll be doing that tomorrow when I come…
Dear Ria and team I had a tree uprooted in my garden by a strom that was at least 8 years old whn it happened. Sam who helps me in the garden very gently cleared all the debris and increased the size of the hole and then we very carefully pulled the tree upright again and braced it all around and put good organic compost on it and water. It is two years later and the tree is happy and has continued growing. In your case – perhaps remove some of the tree branches and make it somewhat ‘smaller’ in size but keep all the growing parts in tact. It is worth a try as it is a productive tree. Lots of love. Nici Richter Johannesburg, South Africa
Thank you, Nici – this is a fantastic idea. I don’t know whether we will be able to do it – it is a big tree. But we shall certainly try. Your advice is very precious.
The point is Nici, that this tree might be over 50 years old; and I don’t have a clue how we will get it upright… or removed… or what?