Reflections on a Storm

Farewell to The Windy Poplars.

Dear friends,

Popping in to say a quick hello. We were hit pretty hard here in Nova Scotia by Fiona over the weekend. We still don’t have power and they are saying it might not be for a few days. Service is incredibly spotty. We were very lucky, but did lose three to four poplar trees that stood about 100 ft tall in the front yard. I had come to call the house The Windy Poplars, so their loss is significant to me. Thankfully, the winds were in our favor and they fell away from the house. I believe it was the poplars keeping us safe they only way they could. If things had gone the other way, the house likely wouldn’t have made it The damage to Nova Scotia, PEI and Newfoundland is severe and still we are so lucky. A friend reminded me that I can grieve the loss of the trees and the destruction and also feel relief at the same time, which provided me with some peace.

A windy poplar.

The morning after the storm, our next door neighbor showed up with his son and dove into cleanup, they began chainsawing the huge trunks that blocked the road and moving them out of the way. An hour later the road was clear. He didn’t even knock to say hello. He saw we needed help and went to work. That’s how people are here. Eager to jump in and fix things that need fixing. The generosity is moving. Chad is out there right now continuing to cut branches and remove debris and will be for days.

We had our neighbor over on Sunday to thank him with the limited resources we have. A grill and a cooler. As I mentioned last week, we had some some odds and ends in the freezer, which needed to be dealt with before leaving back for Hudson. I took out lamb chops and hot Italian sausages and Chad lit a fire and put some Labatt Blue’s on ice. I salt and peppered the chops well and let the fire lick them until they were pink in the middle. I placed them on a shared plate and we ate them with our hands using paper towels as napkins while throwing back some cold beers. It was the best meal I’ve had in a long time.

Our meals are much earlier these last few days, racing against the sun to cook outside and clean-up before nightfall. We take a battery powered lantern up to bed to drink wine and watch some movies Chad had the foresight to download. We are asleep by 10 pm. This simpler life imposed by nature has its benefits, for now at least. At some point a hot shower would be nice, but I’m trying to appreciate the little things. It’s 70 degrees today.

Please forgive any delays in newsletter deliveries over the next week or so. We’re trying to get our footing.

Love,

Colu