Strong gales passing through

Vineyard looks okay today. 

Well, we got a little bit of rain and with it a lot of wind. It was a low pressure that passed gently over the Azores and built quickly before arriving in Ireland and veering up to Scotland. It blew heavily all day yesterday and through the night.

The vines looked okay today. I'll have to check again tomorrow after they've had a chance to think about it.

The trees have not done so well, especially the ash. They are the last to leaf and so their leaves were tender and almost completely burnt by the wind. So sad to see. Yesterday, full of life. Today charred and dead.

Except for the amazing lilies in front of the garage which got decimated, most of the flowers seemed okay. We've created a sheltered haven here. The orchard seems fine too, and it protects the vineyard.

We did lose two massive branches from chestnut trees. Their leaves are so big, they are wind umbrellas.

So not too terribly bad. And the donkeys are all fine as are the cats, but all are dazed and complaining. Kept our minds off Covid-19 for one day.

Yesterday mid-day. 

Charred ash

Poor kiwi

Veg garden not too bad, but the tree tops are decimated

Donkeys fine but stunned and still hunkering down. 

It's raining

We woke up to a gentle light pittter patter on the windows. It was raining ever so slowly, but I could feel the earth sighing a breath of relief.  It stopped for a time, but restarted in the evening, gentle as ever. The best kind of rain. Quenching the earth without disturbing the parched plants. Hallelujah.

It had rained a bit yesterday afternoon, too, yet nothing had been forecast. If what they say is right, on Friday we'll have a gale with lots of rain and wind. I hope the fruit sets beforehand. Until then, we'll take the gentle soaking and replenishing of the barrels and pond.

A tropical storm, the first of the 2020 season has formed off the Florida coast and is heading for North Carolina, then Bermuda. I hope it stays away from all the small boats returning from the Caribbean in this crazy coronavirus-infested time. I've spent much time on the phone and internet with reporters and documentary makers after being interviewed by the BBC and quoted in the Guardian. Hopefully, I've done my small part in helping people stay safe on their small yachts on that big ocean. Fair winds to all, including us. An island is, after all, not unlike a boat when a storm hits.

Once again, we dance and pray for rain

Another beautiful morning in Mayo. 

MONTHLY VALUES FOR NEWPORT UP TO 12-MAY-2020

Total rainfall in millimetres for NEWPORT

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
2020	139.5	342.8	178.2	25.5	12.2								698.2
2019	146.8	115.0	228.5	100.7	112.5	76.6	82.7	228.9	175.5	160.7	148.1	220.6	1796.6
2018	274.6	155.6	86.2	94.3	70.4	65.9	58.6	179.1	148.3	140.9	172.6	201.0	1647.5
2017	94.3	151.0	216.2	31.1	64.2	108.3	164.0	197.6	153.3	190.1	203.0	179.7	1752.8
mean	166.7	126.5	141.2	96.8	94.7	89.7	100.9	132.5	131.5	176.0	170.4	180.2	1607.1

We are watering our gardens daily now. No rain since the last report of rain on this blog. It continues sunny but this week is cold. Last week was warm. Next week to be warm. Truly bizarre. After the soggiest February when I thought all the plants would drown, we had the driest April, and May continues the trend. Oh, and there's tropical depression forming off the Bahamas. 

The fine weather continues but the drought has broken

Last night, we finally had some rain. More than a centimetre of rain fell overnight, and we've had drizzle for much of the day. Halleluja.

The vines seem okay and all have survived thus far. The first ten are leafing nicely and Alex was able to mow the main row with our lawnmower after strimming it first.

And the donkeys returned yesterday having completed their annual migration down the road and up the hill without a hitch. They seemed happy to be back and loved the new driveway -- no more slipping on the smooth cement.

Met Eireann has not identified our area as having a drought, even though we've had little rain.
https://www.met.ie/climatological-droughts-and-dry-spells-2020