Our first big blow of the year. Yesterday afternoon the wind built in the southeast and by nightfall the rain and wind were lashing the house. We managed a soak in the hottub at midnight amongst the swaying giants around us, and we retired to sleep in the howling gale.

All night the wind built and at one point I felt spray on my face as rain was being forced through the windows above our bed. In the morning the downstairs windows on our protected frontporch were sprayed with rain, something that only happens when the wind gusts towards 100 km/h. I have only seen rain on these windows a handful of times since 2001.

In the morning we lost power at 8am, and there was nothing to do but boil water on the wood stove and drink tea while we awaited the day. It was Finn's birthday party today and after carefully considering what to do, we decided to go ahead, making a fun day out of a powerless holiday Monday. By the time folks arrived at 12:30, the sky was clearing and we heated a massive pot of chili on the barbeque, finishing it just as the power came back on at 2:00pm. After lunch we all went over to the school to play capture the flag and soccer in the cool crisp sunshine.

There is a lot of duff on the roads and trees down all around the island, but most are in good shape.

One addendum. While I was away last week, my friends Martin Clarke and Leah Cline had a fire in their house. It seems they have saved some of it, but the damage is massive. Martin and Leah are great kitchen junket hosts, and great lovers of community culture. We'll do what we can to help them out.