This last weekend, Hurricane Lee made landfall just south of Nova Scotia as a tropical storm. Given Fiona last year was a post-tropical storm, and did immense damage, we had no idea what the outcome would be. We all have some fairly severe PTSD on the subject.

I hate wind. I always have. It makes me twitchy and unsettled and I don’t sleep well. Having wind-vulnerable structures on the property doesn’t help. I can’t say I was in good shape while the storm raged on Saturday and then through the night. “Basket case” might be a safe descriptor, waiting to hear crashes and bangs and the sounds of destruction..

In the end, though, all is well. There was no damage. The tent/shed remains standing, as do my sunflowers and corn.

Friday, the day before the storm, was sunny and warm. It was also a holiday for our family, so the nice weather was very appreciated. We shared supper with two other families, a campfire, bible study. The sky was a brilliant red at sundown, which given the weather coming in, seemed incongruous.

Sunday afternoon, once the storm blew itself out, it was also sunny. We got the rest of the fenceposts in for the chicken run, and got the rest of last year’s wood moved over for splitting and stacking. I was able to mow that area for the first time ever, carving some civilization out of the wild tangle there.

It doesnt necessarily show well in the photo unless one zooms in, but every orange flag is a tree, shrub, or perennial herb I planted this year. There are still several to put in before winter comes -2 apple, 3 pawpaw, 2 kiwi, 1 currant, 2 honeylocust, heather, japanese quince…

This years’ firewood is to be delivered at some point this week, so that will need stacked and tarped, the duck hut is no further toward being finished than it was last October, the gates need built and installed on the chicken run so we can let them out…there is much to do. And hopefully, soon, the mosquitos will begin dying off and make those tasks easier and more enjoyable.

Winter will be creeping in sooner than we want it to.