May 3, 2010: High Winds and Horizontal Rain

What horrid weather! We had 45 mph winds today, with wind gusts of 60 mph! We had horizontal rain, a broken tree branch on the garden, raspberry wires blown right off the post....I wrenched my lower back trying to lift the soaked tomato seedlings back into the shed for protection from the wind and rain, so now I walk like a bent over really old lady. As if that weren't enough, we are expecting three nights in a row in the mid 30s! This weather is just ridiculous. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the tomatoes that have already been planted. I think most of them will be fine, as they were protected from the wind by the fence and the shed. I'm quite sure the basil is toast by now, and one of the broccoli plants must have been uprooted and blown away....there is absolutely no sign of it anywhere. DaBeardedOne dropped in for a visit, and he said it was even worse out at his place. We looked over my garden, and the wind was actually uprooting the tiny beets.




I don't think the tree branch damaged anything in the garden, except possibly the stack of tomato cages my neighbor set there last night. The wind blew the top part off the composter, but that's not a problem. Mr. Granny said the onions were laying flat to the ground, but when I looked later, they seemed to be uprighting themselves again. At least one container of flower seedlings tipped over, and the container blew away leaving the seedlings upside down with roots dried out. I brought them in and re-hydrated them, they will be fine. I didn't get out to the back garden to see how the containers of seedlings fared there.

I took some ibuprofen, soaked in a hot bath, then planted my backside on a heating pad for a couple of hours. The back muscles are feeling a little bit better tonight. If I can get out of bed in the morning, I'll survey the damage in the garden.

Oh....the front yard is a mess of pine branches, pine cones and pine needles. Sometimes I just hate those pine trees :-(

17 comments:

  1. Wow, I hope everything looks better when you head out today!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sorry Granny....that... Mother Nature! You take care of yourself and get better. The garden will wait. Take care

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh no Gran. That's awful. I hope your back feels better. Marc has back problems and I'm amazed that sometimes lit just takes the slighted awkard movement for it to act up.

    I was planning on planted out my basil today only because they are not doing well inside. (No growth and yellowing tiny leaves). Our night are now in the 40s. Do you think they will be ok?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh no! I'm so sorry to hear about all the damage.. We get our fair share of wicked thunderstorms in the south as well, and I know what a mess they can make of a yard. Take it easy on your back and don't push yourself too hard - everything will get done eventually. :-) Take care and feel better soon!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm in sympathy with you over the rain, the wind and especially over the pine trees, as I have a love/hate relationship with them!

    ReplyDelete
  6. February was warmer and sunnier than what we have now!

    ReplyDelete
  7. It was 35 degrees this morning here. I hope my grow tunnel covers and greenhouse provide sufficient protection for the tomatoes. We got winds too but our stand of tall trees that surrounds our property provides a really good wind break and keeps the worst of it from hitting us. We end up with a lawn, driveway, and garden full up of branches, needles and pinecones though. What a mess.

    Hope your back is better today and all your plants rebound.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Sorry to hear about your weather related and physical problems right now. Temps in the mid 30's at night is definitely something to be concerned about, but i'm sure you'll get through it.

    ReplyDelete
  9. We had the same nasty windy weather Granny, our yard is a big mess and it was very cold out last night, they even said we might get a hint of snow today.

    I hope all of your plants pull through and especially hope your back recovers quickly...stupid darn weather anyway.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I am very sorry to hear about the winds out there. Hope you feel better. I hope weather gets better sooner.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thanks to all for your comments. I slept on the heating pad last night, and I'm walking upright this morning. Of course, I haven't tried bending over yet ;-)

    ********
    Thomas, I really like to wait until temperatures are 45 or higher at night. If it's too cold, the basil will just sit and sulk and turn pale, anyway. I set mine out in pots this year, expecting the higher night time temps. I just didn't have time to get all the pots out of the garden before the wind hit. I'm not terribly concerned, as basil grows fast and there is time for me to start another batch if mine succumbed from wind damage.

    The last time my back "went out", all I did was bend over to pick up a tumbleweed from the driveway. That was years ago, but I remember being bent over for days!

    ********
    Tatayana, I want that February weather back!

    ********
    Mr. H., look out in your yard and see if my broccoli plant ended up at your place! ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  12. I'm sorry AG...we suffered the same here in Idaho...I dislike the wind very much....but today is a new day : ) ....hope your back heals quickly.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Mother Nature sure is being weird again this year. We are having a really weird heat spell again. We are having late June or early July weather. Muggy and humid with temps that almost got up to the 90s. We are having a week around 80. So weird. I hope you feel better soon.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Wow! What rough weather. Hopefully it will be better soon. I'm sending warm, dry vibes your way.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Wow! Mother Nature is definitely having a fit lately, between unexpected snow, floods, tornadoes, and now wind blowing your garden away. I suppose you should just be thankful the house didn't end up in Oz along with the broccoli plant. You think Munchkins like broccoli?

    Glad the back is feeling better; take it easy, though. Don't work to hard and make it worse...

    ReplyDelete
  16. Ugh! Sorry to hear of your weather woes. Take care of your back! They can be tricky. My therapist pal says the best thing you can do when you've got a knot is gentle movement and drinking lots of water to flush out the muscle. Good luck and take care!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Sunny, Daphne, Ribbit, SB & Henbogle, the wind has finally died down, now the local news is predicting 31 degree weather tonight. That would equal the record low for May. The weather Channel says 37/35/39 for the next three nights. I hope they're closer to being correct than the local news.

    ReplyDelete