Hurricane force

An image from Twitter as Franklin approached the coast.

The third storm of the week, #StormFranklin, turned out to pack the biggest punch to us. It blew for a long time and it blew harder than the previous two, Dudley and Eunice. The highest gusts recorded at Mayo Sailing Club were at 2 am at 81 knots - that's 150 kph. But gusts in the 70s lasted for many hours. That's a category 2 cyclone for hours on end. Sustained winds were over 40 knots from 3 in the afternoon to 4 in the morning. 

Is this the new normal?  I was heartbroken today when I saw the damage in the garden. Nothing major - a gorse bush broke, Alex's Inukshuk was dangerously altered losing his midsection so he had to take it down. But every shrub and plant that has started to bud and bloom was devastated. Withered and burned by the salt wind. Every window in the house is coated in heavy salt. 

I walked the vineyard and there appears to be no damage. The ground is VERY wet and I have no idea what the salt will do. The Galicians claim that the salt air adds to the terroir, but this was more than salt air. It was more like a scouring. Thankfully the careful staking and pruning seem to have held. 

I've been adding wood ash to the soil around the vines to condition the pH. I've got 5 rows done and only one left to go. I have a pH testing kit and will give it a go after a few days when it's all done. 

I've also fed the fruit trees and soft fruit shrubs with an organic fruit fertilizer, thinking it may help. Not if this wind continues. 

At least the polytunnel survived and everything inside is thriving, including my peach tree which has flowered for the first time. And strawberries are coming. So exciting. I've been pollinating by hand with a brush. It's been great to have fresh broccoli, lettuce, endive, peas, rocket, and Swiss chard through the winter. Wonderful. Very happy with the results. Everything seems healthy for a change. I think the treatment with fulvic acid really helped. I've also added microbes to the soil in the raised beds. 

Meanwhile, the bees were quite active today as the temperature increased and the wind subsided. Alex has been busy building and thatching his natural beehives out of old monkey puzzle tree sections.

 

Let's hope the worst of the weather has passed. I have started propagating my seeds. We bought so many this year. I've also been a plantaholic this winter, buying up stuff from Lidl and the coop and online. Now I will have to plant it all. 

 

Not again!

Storm Franklin

The third named storm in a week approaches us today. Storm Franklin will bring heavy rain, strong winds and 15m waves to the Donegal coast. In fact, there are multiple systems crossing the Atlantic all week. It looks like we will have rain and wind every day except Tuesday. The vineyard will be a swamp by the time this pattern subsides if it ever does. Is this the new normal?