Remember that wee storm, Hurricane Matthew? Remember I mentioned it was going to miss us? It did move out to sea some, but we got hit with plenty of wind and a tremendous about of rain.

We already had rain for almost three weeks on and off prior to the hurricane so when it was said we would get very little of it I think everyone wasn’t too concerned, but then it came.

I am thankful our street didn’t stay flooded too long, but for a while it did looked as though it were going to continue to rise. We were and still are surrounded by a lot of flooded roads and properties. The neighboring town on the other side of the river has been, for the most part, destroyed. Most of those people are currently living in the gyms of the local schools here in town until they can find placement elsewhere.

The garden made it through, but it was water-logged and I had to sand bag the door to the cottage due to the rising water. I think most of the plants made it through and since it’s autumn most of them are going dormant. A lot of mulch moved around and as in the case of the front of the house some of it washed away to end up down the other end of the street!

My home is not in the flood zone, but for a while I was worried. However, it quickly dissipated and the ground is only saturated so I cannot complain because right behind me it is a different story. The University closed for the week and I was left home with perfectly blue skies and lovely weather while the drama of flooding crept all around us. It was a weird and slow destruction for many people.

I took advantage of the time off given me and did some cleanup around the garden and began the restoration work on the cottage. So far 6 windows or 72 panes of glass have been re-glazed. I have 2 windows to finish before I move on to some other part of the structure. It’s going to be a long process!

Until next time…