As I write, Storm ‘Frank’ is wreaking his wrath over our
island. Once again, we are experiencing winds that will blow you over if you
are not fleet of foot, and floods of horizontal rain are battering relentlessly
against the windows. I’ve just been out with Cupar for his late night
‘walkies’. It is as black as a pot out there. Without a torch, I would have to
rely on Cupar’s nose to find the way back home – and we are only walking 400
yards on the local road!! Thankfully, we made it safely back home… Storm proof
clothing is pretty effective, at least for a 10-minute dog-stretch, and my
waterproofs are all now set out to dry, ready for their next outing. Cupar is
stretched-out, steaming, by the stove.
‘Frank’ is our sixth storm this winter. Each storm has
brought huge amounts of rain, and winds at times gusting to more than 70mph. This
kind of weather does not make a line in the national news or weather
programmes. Here, it is considered too ‘normal’ to be ‘news’ – though in fact
we would not normally expect more than a couple of storms of this ferocity each
winter…
However, neither the storm-force wind nor torrential rain is
a threat to life here – not human life anyway – though I have spotted a dead
sheep on the nearby moor – poor thing. Tonight, we experienced our first
extended power cut of the winter – but even this lasted only a couple of hours.
Almost all the electricity supply across Skye comes via overhead lines
supported on wooden poles, so occasional line breaks are inevitable. However, the
power-line guys do an amazing job of fixing faults in the very worst of weather.
Big thanks to you, guys!
Our local river has a relatively small catchment area, and
the rain that falls here gathers quickly and then rushes to the sea through a
deep gorge, so we are not at risk of flooding. Our buildings were designed and
built to cope with the wind. We may lose the occasional roof tile, and chimney
cowls may not survive too long, but mostly our houses are secure. Our trees are
amazing. We have some mature Sitka Spruce on the side boundary of the Barn
garden, and a small woodland of Sycamore, Beech, Larch, Scots Pine and Sitka on the edge of the
river gorge. Somehow, all the trees hang on through every storm, rarely losing
as much as a branch. Mostly, I think they are growing close enough together for
their roots and branches to inter-twine, so they support each other. Together, they afford
the Barn some useful shelter, which I am sure is why they were planted!
So, we shall go to bed tonight with the wind howling round
the house and the rain beating on the windows - yet again. And then, I suspect, all of a
sudden, everything will go quiet. The weather changes so quickly here. Within
15 minutes a raging storm can became a peaceful winter night. Never know - I might even get
a decent photo of tomorrow morning’s sunrise…!!!
