It is now early evening and the sky is very dark and ominous again, only to be suddenly illuminated by enormous forks of lightning. Meanwhile, it sounds as though baby elephants are tramping along the roof line or, perhaps, children are using their beds as trampolines and then catapulting onto the bedroom floor, just as my children used to do when they were young. This is not the sound of children being mischievous, it is thunder. Toby and the cats are not happy. Too tired to continue writing tonight...
Written Saturday 28th July
Yesterday started with a thunder storm and torrential rain, then it cleared away and we were left sweltering and 'glowing' as the heat and humidity rose. It wouldn't have been so bad, if we hadn't made arrangements to have the tree men in to help do the trickier bits of felling some roadside trees. One man turned up, with assorted chainsaws, ropes and pulleys!
It is not the best time of year to be taking down trees, but for practical reasons it had to be done before autumn.
The first tree came down, so did the Lincolnshire post and rail fence...hmmmn! That wasn't part of the plan.
Daughter, granddaughter and I left them to it, we headed into Louth for a coffee and to do a little shopping.
We got back a couple of hours later, to find two trees down and four men working hard, with scarlet faces. They were melting in the heat and humidity. We made them stop and take a rest.
These trees were vast great things, not ancient, just big. One tree was in a dangerous state, the others came down because there is work to be done in that area.
I hate taking trees down, so we always make up for it by planting new saplings in Owl Wood.
Son No 2 and his wife turned up, so did SiL's father, they joined in. Suddenly there were eight people working and clearing.
Sawing branches and trunks, dragging away the smaller branches and leaves to be dealt with later, keeping the lane traffic safe as the trees came down.
It was easier to drag the debris along the lane to Owl Wood, even my daughter got stuck in and helped - and she doesn't do that very often. It was all hands on deck, as the storm clouds rolled in again. The people on the far side of the lane were passing through, as they did a walk for charity, we provided a bit of entertainment for them, a word of encouragement.
We all worked well as a team, we just wanted it done. It was a crazy day to do it, hottest day of the year. Cold drinks, cold cloths, and dogged determination made it possible.
Eventually all that was left to do was some sweeping up along the lane, the rest of the work could be safely left for another day.
Just in time.
The really big storm rolled in and we were treated to more thunder, lighting, heavy rain, and power outages.
We know how to have fun.
You're going to have loads of firewood this winter . Good job so many people turned up to help on that hot and humid day. Bet they lost gallons in sweat. You'll all need to take Almora ..a supplement which provides all those minerals and electrolytes you lost! Just a tip from another hot and sweaty place lol
ReplyDeleteWe've had thunder rumbling around for hours every afternoon and finally got ten minutes of rain yesterday. A very strange summer but I'm not complaining. Over all its far cooler than usual, unlike your summer!!
Hope the humidity doesn't continue
Hello Linda, It helps having so many teachers in the family - they are on their six week break and were all available to help. I will check out the supplement you mentioned, although it takes me back to when I was a child, living in Hong Kong with my family, they were told it was vital that we take salt tablets during the hot weather - I was sick every time they made me take them, I just couldn't keep them down. Sorry, TMI, I guess!
DeleteI am loving this hot summer - with sunshine! So often it is in short supply here on the east coast. Heat I can do, humidity is the horrible bit. I hope you get your rainfall, in a useful amount, and at a time to suit you! ;)
Hong Kong! You know more about humidity than me. I once spent three days there and still remember that horrible atmosphere. I was only 20 back then so survived. Don't think I would now
DeleteKnowing how hot it was yesterday, this post makes me feel quite worn out!
ReplyDeleteAlmost an inch of rain in the rain gauge this morning from storms last night between 8.30 and 11pm. Amazing lightening all round all at once.
Hello Sue,
DeleteIt was meltingly hot, but no matter, we just had to keep plodding on, as I am sure you have had to do in the past!
The storms were dramatic, and the rainfall was very welcome, though I don't know how much we had. I have just discovered that the Boot Room fridge/freezer is now caput. Those bally power outages, then the quick flips back. Some stuff was salvageable, but quite a lot has had to be dumped, yet more stuff is being cooked as i type. Luckily the shed freezer was fine...
The weather can do what it likes now, all is safely gathered in.
ReplyDeleteMy rain water butt is full, I’m happy.
LX
I'm happy that you are happy!
DeleteThe wild winds are blowing right now - winds from the south, luckily, otherwise we would have gone from hot to chilly in one day - which is nothing new for England, I suppose..
Gosh, WHAT a day to pick!!! Mind you, when it was booked you weren't to know just how hot it was going to be. A job well done and as you said, all hands to the deck and it all sorted out.
ReplyDeleteWe had a little thunder in the night and heavy rain (temporary) but tomorrow we are meant to have rain all day. Whoopee!
Jeannie, it was a terrible day, but it had been booked in for a few months and summer in England is not normally like this. In some ways we have been lucky, there is a fierce wind blowing today, around 40+ mph, so today would not have been an option.
DeleteI have my fingers crossed that you get your much needed rainfall. May your water supply, rain butts and ponds (+anything else you need) be filled up to a good level.
Well that did not happen this morning,it's only 9.45 and it would take a longer to remove two trees. We had a storm of sorts at 5 this morning and are expecting more rain later, I envy you having the storm you had. Worst thing was never got to see the moon last night. Like you I hate seeing trees come down
ReplyDeleteNo, this all happened yesterday, Bill. We had a dramatic storm before, and a storm at the end, baking hot in the middle; wild winds today.
DeleteNo chance of seeing the moon, although it was looking quite magnificent and red the night before. We have two rowan trees, a crab apple and a cherry to take their place, not the same, but it makes me feel less guilty. :(
PS you don't wear wellies in the summer nice as they are you need boots to protect your feet in case you drop something on them, believe me it hurts if you do
ReplyDeleteThose fancy boots are being worn by my daughter - she was on traffic control, branch dragging and road sweeping duties. I was very grateful to have her help and would never question her choice of footwear and risk losing a helper!
DeleteA great job done, despite the weather conditions. All that wood, great for the Winter.
ReplyDeleteHello Lorraine, There has to be some consolation for all the hard labour - one of the trees was a cherry, so the wood should smell quite nice on the log burner, once it has seasoned. Now for the next job!
DeleteHello Elaine,
ReplyDeleteYou're on quite a weather roller-coaster! As you noted, warm and humid are not conditions to do this kind of work, but when it needs doing, we do it.
I, too, dislike cutting down live trees. It is extremely rare that I need to do that -- there are plenty of dead trees in our timber to provide us with adequate firewood. I like your way of planting new trees when old ones are taken down.
We had a dry spell, then some nice rains. The temperatures have been very comfortable the last few days. It is much less tiring to make firewood when it is cool and relatively dry compared to hot and humid.
Thank you for another peek into the doings at Owl Wood!
Public safety is a great motivator, Brett. That said, it was a dreadfully unsuitable day! The new saplings look wonderfully healthy, now I need to keep them that way!
DeleteI hope your stack of firewood is growing satisfactorily, scary thought that we will be needing it in a few months. What a thought! Meanwhile we are enjoying this summer of sunshine, even if we do have to put up with humidity now and then.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend and don't work too hard.
work divided is so much easier. :)
ReplyDeleteAll of this is unpaid work, Silver Willow...the kind you do when you retire and think you are settling down to a life of rest, peace, and fun, fun, fun! Suddenly the days are not long enough, you are never bored and you wonder how on earth you ever found time to go to work... I bet you can't wait. ;-)
DeleteSince you all made it through, you all are in great health too! Because this would have 'flattened,' any people with health issues.
ReplyDeleteSo add this, to the happiness, of getting a big job done. :-)
Same sun, rain, thunder, cloudy, sun, rain, etc., etc., etc. here too. And we have to keep some a/c running, night and day. Or I can't breathe. And no, I am not a smoker!
This poor old donkey plodded away at her own pace - a couple of years ago i would have had the job done before lunch time!!
DeleteI hope your weekend proves to be kinder on your airways, Luna. Enjoy the rain and may you soon have some cooler weather. (I didn't think for an instant that you would be a smoker!)
I think you got some our weather. I wondered if the weather patterns go that way west to east. they do here.
ReplyDeleteSuch a big job to do in heat. I'm sure you're glad its done.