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| Wind speed just before 10am this morning : only 46 mph but gusting to 80mph makes life "interesting" |
That was a lively night... not sure what official figures were for wind speeds but it was blooming windy! However in daylight I can see the roof is still on the house and all seems to be OK. Though I've not set foot outside the door yet as it's still gusting to 80mph! A neighbour drove past and said all looked OK from the outside so that's encouraging. Hoping hens have the sense to huddle indoors.
Button decided she was desperate to go out at 6.30 am. She crawled out on her tummy almost, went round the corner of the porch and was back in double quick time, meowing VERY loudly, outraged at the wind. She wasn't the only one!
I started out trying to sleep on the sofa as I thought it would be quieter. However this is where Madam Button often sleeps and she wouldn't settle so in the end I retreated to my own bed. But at 5 am the noise was too much and Button agreed to share the sofa with me.
Power is on, house is warm, I have broadband and telephone. Radio transmitter is off but I can listen online so that's fine.
Feel much better in daylight. At night all you can hear is the roar of the wind, tearing at the house, screaming round the windows trying to find a way in. Pushing at doors so they rattle on their hinges. It feels like the Big Bad Woolf in the story of the Three Little Pigs. "I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house down!" I could feel the house shaking - I kept telling myself it has stood here since 1860 and has weathered many a storm.
Ah well - the wind is supposed to calm down a bit later before getting up again tonight. Hoping I can get out and take a look at the hens but we'll see. They'll survive without me I'm sure!
Glad all is well, the Western Isles seem to be taking a battering as well.
ReplyDeleteYes they often get it worse than us. Lots without electricity for some days I think. Brrr...
DeleteSo glad to hear you are and Button are alright. Hopefully the girls in their house will be hunkered down together and OK too :o)
ReplyDeleteYes the ladies were all present and correct! Though one of the older hens is looking a little unwell tonight so I tucked her into a nice hay bed.
DeleteGlad you are safe and warm. I know what you mean about hearing and feeling the wind upstairs.
ReplyDeleteBy the end of the winter I get used to sleeping through gales! But the really bad ones are tough to deal with....
DeleteGlad you made it through safe. Was crazy here in Elgin too x hope the chickens ain't too stressed
ReplyDeleteSometimes it's worse in towns and villages as the streets act as wind tunnels! And there's more stuff to blow about. Hope you were OK and thanks for commenting! And Yes the chickens are fine I think. They're getting lots of extra food to compensate for not so much time out.
DeleteWinds like that are scary. Last Sunday we had highs in the upper 70's. a cold front came through and a tornado touched down in Savannah. Then on Wednesday night another cold from came through and it went down to 21ยบ, really strange weather.
ReplyDeleteHope you stay safe and warm. Our cat hates the wind and gets flakey as all get out on windy days.
Now tornados are SERIOUSLY scary I would think! I have a number of US friends who are bemused how the UK is so focused on the weather as we rarely have extremes of weather! I gather some cats get all bouncy on windy days and sometimes can "predict" the wind coming. Button - she mostly sleeps through it, though if it's very noisy she gets unsettled.
DeleteYour vivid description makes me shiver just to read, Sian. I do hope the coming storm isn't as bad as the forecasts. We're on a yellow alert for wind overnight and I can hear it whistling around already, even here in the valley.
ReplyDeleteAre you finding your new home more sheltered than your old? Hope the forecast snow doesn't cause you too many problems!
DeleteIn some ways, Sian, but the valley is very wide and open, so we still catch the wind when it's from the south-west. :)
DeleteVery good to hear from you, Sian. We have been thinking of you last night and today! I am very impressed that you kept power: ours went down in the middle of the night. Given that nearly 100,000 people were without power across the Highlands today, we didn't expect to get it back for some time; but in fact it came on again about 11 am, for which we were very grateful. Who would be an electrical engineer in these conditions?!
ReplyDeleteYour description of the Big Bad Wolf is spot on. Lying awake in the blackness, listening to the bangs and rattles and howling, it is easy to feel that the wind is a malevolent beast. I am hoping that tonight's gale will be a rather smaller wolf and will allow us all to get some sleep - including you and your cats and poor ruffled chooks.
The power linesmen (and women) are magnificent working in such awful conditions. They've had the most awful trouble on the West coast and Western Isles from what I hear. They've been kept busy in Orkney too!
DeleteOur 2nd gale was much quieter and kept to herself so we all slept better. Hope the same was true for you too!
You are a brave woman. I can not emagain my self surviving such a weather. Here is the coldest day of the year, 2c and I am freezing,
ReplyDeleteStay safe
Brr I hope temperatures have warmed up for you! I don't think I'm brave at all! Living on my own I just have to get on with it really. And I know help is at hand if I really needed it. Neighbours are very good.
DeleteNever heard the expression "Barrell of butter".
ReplyDeleteWe've had some pretty crazy winds here in Nova Scotia today. Gusting up to 80 kph.
Glad you survived the storm OK.
Ah - the Barrel of Butter is the name of a tiny wee (uninhabited) island with a bit of a grisly history. In the days when seal hunting was legal, local residents paid a barrel of butter to the landlord to be able to hunt seals from it. Ugh.... the name stuck and it's the nearest weather station to Graemsay.
DeleteHope you are doing OK in the winds too!
Glad to hear you're doing ok. I'm not familiar with such long lasting storms - sounds very tense.
ReplyDeleteWe are having sub-zero temps, lots of snow, and wind (near Chicago) for several days. My older dog is having a tough time but has learned to take care of business and head back in ASAP!
Stay safe and warm.
Lorraine (PS - enjoying many older posts)
The worst of a storm usually lasts a day, but our gales can go on for three days! This current spell was actually two storms, one on the heels of another. Chicago has seriously severe weather I understand. Particularly cold, ice and snow! Our climate is very mild in comparison. We just moan about it a lot ;-)
DeleteGlad you and Button survived the dark and stormy night.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I feel better having caught up on sleep now! (As does Button)...
DeleteDear Sian,
ReplyDeleteWhat terrible weather for you to tolerate by yourself, just you and Button. Here in West Texas we sometimes get a roaring wind like that. It just howls at the windows and seems to make a sucking noise where the vent pipes for the plumbing go up through the roof. Last week of December we were housebound the entire week, from Tuesday until Saturday Jan. 3rd. On Friday afternoon, Jan. 2nd. I felt that I just had to get out but our driveway and country road were so thickly ice coated that the heavy car did not make any tracks. I drove very slowly until I reached the pavement and then it was alright going into town as other cars had traveled and made the highway slushy. Our five outdoor cats were totally out of food. So that was the main thing I was going for. You asked what kind of cattle we have. They are called Beefmasters and are a registered breed. Beef is very expensive here right now so we are taking some to the cattle auction in San Angelo, Tx. next week and hope to get a very good price.
Keep up the good blogging. I so enjoy seeing the pictures of your beautiful part of the world.
Sending Texas love and concern for your safety and health. Lou Ann
That was so kind of you to go and get the cats more food in such awful weather! I have managed to stock up on cat and hen food and can order in supplies before it runs out. I find as long as I have enough food for the hens and cats I can survive on just about anything! I have a well stocked freezer and tins too, but the animals must have their "special" food!
DeleteI'll have to look up Beefmasters online. The island cattle are often bred from the continental bulls (such as simmental, charolais) and there are Aberdeen Angus on the island too.
Take care too and lovely to hear from you! I intend to keep blogging - sometimes the mind is willing but the body is too darned tired!
Take care in the wind, ferry pictures I saw yesterday enough to make me feel seasick whilst sitting in an armchair so can only imagine how wild it us in real life!
ReplyDeleteYes I've been seeing various video of the big ferry on Facebook going out of the Flow and it looks hideous. NO amount of money would have got me on that!
DeleteGlad you made it through so far. Sounds scary.
ReplyDeleteHmm I'm probably being a bit of a drama queen, but it was wild!
DeleteA 'lively night', Sian?
ReplyDeleteI blush for you :o)
Ha! If only ;-)
Deleteit sounds so scary
ReplyDeleteKeep your pecker up!
What good Button, hiding under the duvet :-)
Greetings from a less stormy Holland.
The cat I had before Button used to snuggle up to me in a storm and we'd be quietly terrified together. Button gives me a distainful look - she's not into cuddles. So I have to get on with it! Hope things are OK with you as I know the Storm was heading over your way too.
DeleteShe moved on to the Norwegian coast. They named her Nina. Fiery woman..
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness she did! I saw the photos on your blog. So sad to see those big trees down..... Orkney has few trees due to the wind..... they are precious..
DeleteHope the wind has calmed a little for you. It has been very windy here but nothing like yours. Your description is perfect.
ReplyDeleteHope the weather is kind to you. Think you are forecast snow for a few days. Take care!
DeleteYes, your description of the wind is perfect, we didn't sleep much, and one of my 3 cats was out, so I was worried about her, they do have a shed to sleep in, so at least that's something, we had a few slates off, no electric for half a day, no mobile phone or internet for 3 days, just back on. Still wild out there now! x (South Uist)
ReplyDeleteOh I would be beside myself if Button stayed out! She's too keen on her home comforts to do that deliberately though. I always think of Charlie in the barn, but he has plenty of hay to keep him warm and he CHOSE to move out and live in the barn and seems happy there.
DeleteNo mobile phone or internet -arrggh! Now that IS a challenge! Hope you were able to stay warm without electricity?
I think quite often you get it far worse in the West than we do. It seems to have lost a bit of energy often by the time it gets to us....
Stay safe and warm. It sounds like you and Button may share the sofa again if the storm continues.
ReplyDeleteHmm no I decided bed was FAR more comfortable! Audio books and ear phones helped me sleep. Button was happy with the sofa to herself too!
DeleteI shivered as I read your post. I hope you are back blogging soon.
ReplyDeleteFortunately I am now nice and warm - though it's snowing outside! Hope you manage OK with the Winter too. I think you get far more extreme weather in the US than we do in the UK. We just talk about it more!
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