The fir trees in the photo below are used to bending away from the prevailing southeast winds. The bay is loaded in whitecaps, a sure sign that only fools would go out there in a small boat. No fools visible today.
It blew so hard today that the firs in my backyard suffered in spite of being partly sheltered behind my house. When the rain let up somewhat, I went outside to take a picture of the branch that broke in the wind today. Apparently the rain hadn’t quite stopped, as you can see from the big drop that fell right in the middle of my camera lens. I was going to try to edit it out, but then I thought, “No, this is part of the picture. It was wet out there.”
If you look to the left of the tree closest to you, near the middle, you can see that a branch is near the ground, but still hanging on the tree. It is broken and hanging by a thread way up high. See the birdhouse on the tree? Go up about the same distance again as the birdhouse is from ground level and you will see the break.
Here is a close-up of the top of that broken branch.
I guess I could try swinging on the branch like Tarzan and it would come off, but if it broke mid-swing, that might not be too much fun.
Branches flying everywhere,
Look! A sliding patio chair,
Time to get some firewood,
Raining, so put up your hood,
Fir cones pelt the woodshed roof,
Put your hard hat on, you goof.
Quickly, fill that barrow now,
Gusts of wind are screaming – “Wow!”
Push the wood up to the house,
Knowing you’ve exposed a mouse,
Hiding by the firewood stack
She resettles farther back.
Birds are huddling in a shrub,
Dangerous to come out for grub.
Just get through this awful night,
Tomorrow things will be all right.
November 27, 2020 at 5:47 pm
That’s an issue with pine wood, isn’t it? A softwood can’t take that much punishment based on the beautiful waves on the bay. 🇨🇦
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November 27, 2020 at 5:49 pm
These are Douglas fir trees, but I know that pine is quite soft and susceptible to damage from wind and snow.
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November 27, 2020 at 5:52 pm
They are beautiful trees that can smell really good! My folks place has both white and red pine. Beautiful, but when they go to pollen, it’s a golden mess.
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November 27, 2020 at 7:03 pm
The fir pollen is like that too. Everything is coated in yellow powder.
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November 28, 2020 at 12:59 am
This is the time to cuddle up together in front of the fireplace. I wouldn´t go out to get firewood in this weather.
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November 28, 2020 at 4:24 am
I’ve never been a fan of the wind. Stay safe, Anneli!
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November 28, 2020 at 8:56 am
Most animals get freaked out by wind. I do too when it gets really wild. Blue sky today though.
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November 28, 2020 at 4:25 am
Did you lose your power as well? I hope Lincoln found a safe cubby to wait out the storm!
Those coastal wind storms sometimes reach as far inland as Penticton.
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November 28, 2020 at 8:55 am
Not this time. We lost power for three hours last week and I thought for sure we would lose it for this storm too, as it was even windier than the last time, but we were lucky. No sign of Lincoln but he ate his food so I guess he’s okay. We had some pretty harsh days when we lived in Penticton. I remember landing at the airport after a Christmas visit to the island and the wind was whistling sideways across the runway, cold! And the fruit trees, so beautiful in the spring, were gnarly and ugly. Bleak and cold! But the rest of the year, it can be beautiful.
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November 28, 2020 at 7:29 am
Quite some wind, as one can also see from the whitecaps on the water.
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November 28, 2020 at 8:57 am
Not boating weather, for sure.
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November 28, 2020 at 11:33 am
I would agree. Is that a sheltered bay? Then it would be blowing much harder outside. There was a time when I could judge the wind force quite well from the whitecaps on the waves, in “my good old sailing-days”.
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November 28, 2020 at 12:18 pm
Partially, because there is a spit of land that sticks out, and also it is on the east side of Vancouver Island, so not open to the Pacific. But it can get rough as you get farther out of the bay. And of course, it depends on which way the wind is blowing.
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November 28, 2020 at 12:23 pm
Thanks for the info. 🙂
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November 28, 2020 at 8:23 am
Stormy weather, I hope it’s stopped. Well captured in your photos and poem.
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November 28, 2020 at 8:58 am
Thanks, Belinda. Today is calm, cool, and quiet. Whew!
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November 28, 2020 at 10:35 am
Big Winds!
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November 28, 2020 at 10:47 am
Yes, very big! Blue sky today, but it’s a rare thing and it’s back to wind and rain tomorrow. I’m going to smile while I can.
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November 28, 2020 at 10:47 am
Good!
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November 28, 2020 at 1:33 pm
And Lincoln? Hmm??
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November 28, 2020 at 2:13 pm
I put the food out for him and it disappeared even though I didn’t see him all day, but today he was chasing around another squirrel. Maybe girlfriend, Della, is back? Anyway, they both looked lively and happy.
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November 28, 2020 at 3:18 pm
Yay! Glad to hear that.
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November 28, 2020 at 3:03 pm
Your poem is cute, Anneli, the wind not so much!
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November 28, 2020 at 3:13 pm
Thanks, Diana. That wind rose much higher after these photos were taken, and it certainly wasn’t cute. Quite scary at times. Glad you like the poem. Tnx.
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November 28, 2020 at 7:00 pm
Wow! That must have been pretty scary. Loved the poem.
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November 28, 2020 at 8:22 pm
Thanks, Jennie. I’m always glad when those extra windy days calm down.
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November 29, 2020 at 6:30 pm
🙂
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November 29, 2020 at 10:01 am
Looks like a crazy storm! Glad you are all okay. Where I live, all our ash trees have died from the ash bore and so they are breaking easily in storms and causing power outages and other damage. Not fun.
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November 29, 2020 at 10:19 am
I hope none of those ash trees are close to your home. But I understand that they can still cause power outages that affect you. I suppose all we can do is to be prepared for those outages and hope the trees are not going to damage homes.
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November 29, 2020 at 10:22 am
They are all around us and near our wires but there aren’t any right next to the house. We just have to be prepared for the outages, yes, especially this winter
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November 29, 2020 at 10:22 am
Fingers crossed for a safe winter.
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November 29, 2020 at 3:12 pm
Love the poem and it captures the energy of the storms, the feelings as one heads out into them! Be careful of falling branches though. Oh, it does look so stormy and I’m not surprised your fir tree suffered! We came back to the summer houses one spring and a whole pine tree had been felled by gales and lay nestled in the copse!
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November 29, 2020 at 6:29 pm
Hi, Annika. Nice to see you here. You’re right about falling branches being a danger. We just found out that our friends lost their home to falling trees in the storm a couple of weeks ago. Must be devastating. It gives me a new appreciation for the suffering of people in the path of hurricanes and tornadoes.
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December 1, 2020 at 1:47 pm
I bet all the eagles were keeping out of it too! Hope you managed to avoid too much damage.
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December 1, 2020 at 2:51 pm
I often wonder where the birds go when it’s so stormy that the trees are whipping back and forth. There have been times when I just want to open my doors and let all the birds and animals come inside for the night. (But there might not be much left in the morning, after they all eat each other.)
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July 13, 2021 at 1:39 am
What is the bay’s name?
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July 13, 2021 at 7:30 am
Oh, it’s nothing grand – just our local estuary, Comox Bay.
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