“Suddenly all the sky is hid
As with the shutting of a lid,
One by one great drops are falling
Doubtful and slow,
Down the pane they are crookedly crawling,
And the wind breathes low;
Slowly the circles widen on the river,
Widen and mingle, one and all;
Here and there the slenderer flowers shiver,
Struck by an icy rain-drop’s fall.”
~James Russell Lowell, “Summer Storm,” 1839
It’s been so droughty-dry and unseasonably hot here at the farm. There have been storms but all of them have gone past us, leaving us with light shows in the sky, heavy winds and only the smell of rain.
The grass has turned dry and crunchy under our feet. Great cracks have opened in the ground. The dam has a few scant inches of water left amid the waterlilies struggling to stay viable.
Those dry storms have kept us busy – interrupting our power supply again and again, downing trees, stopping our landline phone and internet from working.
Last night we finally attracted a storm that had everything – wind, hail, lightning, thunder and most importantly rain.
Our internet’s down again. We’ve got broken branches littered everywhere. The ground is a carpet of leaves thrown down by the elements. The air is cool and smells sweetly of earth and moisture. There’s lots of mess to clean up.
Me? I’m blogging in the car, on the way to coffee with Ben and Cafe Dog.
The last of the rain is moving through now, and then it should fine up to a bright hot day before more storms again this afternoon. But we know that this kind of unstable and disruptive weather pattern is here to stay. So we’ve made some big decisions.
We’re just finishing the last of a massive solar installation that will see us self-sufficient for power and with a diesel generator for back up just in case.
We’ve got new internet providers coming to the farm to fit us out for a better system instead of relying on ancient phone lines that stop working with any hint of moisture.
All these storms have forced us to rethink and adapt.
What big changes are you making in your life right now?
It’s time.
Rethink. Adapt. Get ready to do it differently for 2017.
You are so right Nicole! Change is the key feature in my life. This last May, my husband passed away within 2 months of being diagnosed with terminal cancer. Our place out in the country is too much for me alone to take care of so last month I decided to move to the city. It was a decision my husband and I had made just before he fell ill. I have gone through so many changes since my dear husband died. I have had to learn to do things he did around our little hobby farm. I have done a lot of growing, but evidently the universe wants me to continue to grow. I am going to arrange to sell our home and buy another one in the city, things I have never done on my own before. I constantly fight off anxiety about all this and give myself pep talks as if my husband were talking to me. I know in my heart it is the right thing to do. My sister-in-law gave me an affirmation to say: ” I can take our dream (my husband’s and mine) and walk it forward.” 2016 has been a year of enormously difficult changes. I pray 2017 is much much more peaceful and joyous. Thank you Nicole for your beautiful gifted mind. You have helped and encouraged me tremendously! Golden Light Blessings to you,
Lisa from way up in Oregon
Those are wonderful ideas.. I don’t have those options here but would if I could. I worry here about the loss of heat during winter storms. So far so good.
I like this nudge – I will think about this. I am glad you have done something so wonderfully proactive.
It is stinking bloody hot here the last few days the mornings are cooler but by 9-10 am it is generally pretty bloody hot and I don’t like the heat it makes me sick