"It looked spectacular on television," said my neighbour. "You could see those two ominous black cloud fronts approaching one another and colliding."
"Deja view," I thought.
Tricia and I didn't watch it. We cuddled up in bed and listened to it in the morning. Later we sat on the sofa watching videos. The dog thought is wonderful. She could be the centre of the pack sitting up between us with her head on a lap. Yep, she thought is was wonderful.
Today when it was all over we surveyed the damage. Not much really. The succulents in the rock gardening needed syphoning. Hydroponic cacti are a bit unusual. <grin> Some had already started to rot but most look as though they will recover. We planted lettuce, fine chicory, Italian parsley, and fast growing open-hearted Chinese cabbage. Tricia planted violets on the patio. All this outdoor activity gave the dog the opportunity to eat some persimmons of the tree. Those who are certain in their beliefs and know dogs are carnivores may find some difficulty in explaining orange dog poo. Reality outruns the best laid maps.
Talking of neighbours. The neighbours were talking.
It's amazing what you learn after a storm. Across the road the energy distribution contractors had torn up the grass verge to lay gas pipes. The storm had washed away the rich loam and silt indiscriminately and the grass seed along with it. Persons unknown had taken the opportunity provided by absence of people on the street during the storm to draw large swastikas in the setting concrete repairs to his vehicle crossing. The rain had washed the surface and exposed the underlying aggregate. It was all a bit of a mess. Sometimes it takes a bit of chunking up to keep one's perspective. In time it will be fixed. The energy distribution contractors were laying pipes to convey heating gas to a local retirement home. Somewhere at that level it becomes OK. Who would want to be in a retirement home to go without adequate heating. It takes a bit of viewing things from other people's perspectives to decide what will be of consequence and what will not when we look back in a few weeks or months time.
Tricia, the dog and I went off to visit places we had neglected. The rocky outcrops where the dog could swim and I could clamber over some rocks. The council had ripped up one of our favourite places to take the pup. What a mess they had made. Actually they made quite a good job of it. Fenced off a section so some grass grow. The limestone boulders in the break wall have weathered now exposing sheets of lime crystal. The dog swam. We eat some roast chicken. Had some coffee. Reflected on life and made plans to put a new trellis on the patio.
Life goes on even after a storm.