Viticulture in Ireland: The aftermath of Isha

My favourite tree leaning heavily and heaving with each gust.

We made it through #StormIsha relatively intact. Frankly, it had been quite frightening at some stages. We kept expecting windows to break and for all hell to break loose, but thankfully it did not. In the morning, Alex loaded up the car with chainsaw and pitchforks and went to clear the road into Ross House, where several trees were down and seaweed covered the road, while I surveyed our land.

The polytunnel is still there and no damage. Thank you D-Plant! Many people lost their polytunnels and glass houses. The heartbreak for those with businesses wiped away was palpable.

The shed and solar panels seem to have held on OK, and I couldn't see any damage to the roofs although there may be a missing slate on the garage.

My favourite tree, a perfect self-seeded Scots spine, is leaning perilously, roots pulling up out of the earth with every gust. We are going to try to save it by staking it. There is carnage in the vineyard with about 20 stakes broken near the base. Some of the vines were severed near the graft, while others survived fine.

The power was back on after 18 hours of darkness. I wonder how all the kids did without the internet for so long. It would have been the first time many would have experienced such a long time without power. We haven't had a prolonged power failure since our first year here.

We had a prolonged period of 50+-knot (92 km/h) sustained winds and 80+-knot (150 km/h) gusts.

Happy St Vincent's Day, patron saint of winemakers. Maybe he was looking after us as it could have been much worse. The clean-up after #StormIsha began.

Our first priority was to save the vines that were knocked down by the fierce winds. As it was only gusting to ~50 knots today, we managed okay in between the hail showers and thunderstorms. The worst affected were the first three rows and the youngest vines: the Albarino, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Fortunately, Alex had just bought stakes for shoring up some of the dodgy-looking stakes.

Our second priority after #StormIsha was to save the bees whose hive had tumbled down off a temporary support table. Alex couldn't move the hive alone so I had to suit up to assist. He was afraid the bees were gone but they were just disoriented at having their house turned sideways.

We lifted the boxes and put them on the strong support he had built earlier this year. The bees were annoyed but the new spot is much better sheltered.

Inspection of the rest of the land did not reveal any major issues only two broken fence posts. Lots of pots to right and even a cast iron chair turned over.

Tomorrow I begin the cleanup of the lawn and gardens. We'll have enough kindling for generations. Of course, #StormJocelyn is already on the way. 😧🙄😲🤞