We had a weekend of non-stop storms that scared the life out of Galia in the outback of the Bulgarian countryside based Skalitsa farmhouse. Being a town girl she is used to the protection of many building around her so when there is a violent storm she is shielded from natures extremes of weather by man made elements. This last 48 hours was a first hand experience for her of the powers of nature.
It really was a humdinger of a weekend for me, I just love the extremes of weather and was outside feeling it for the most unblocking drainage pipes during the deluge of rain that came from a seeming ocean full above. Having been through weather like this before alone I knew that there would be some damage, but is would be soon repaired or more like patched up, as it always is in Bulgarian villages. The way in which the trees bend to extremes in the almost tornado force winds is quite a feat of nature especially being born of a full set of leave that act as sails. Galia was concerned of the extent of the swaying and bending, but then if they didn’t I explained, they’d just snap!
The storms one after another last from Saturday midday through to around midnight. We counted the number of storms that cascaded upon us to around 6. Throughout that time we had no power as unbeknown to us the power cable had been severed with trees beating on them. It wasn’t until Sunday lunchtime that we realised that it was only our street in Skalitsa that had been cut off for 24 hours when an massive cherry picker came to chop down the culprit trees across the road from us to free up the electric cables that were entangled. The whole neighbourhood came along to watch on this now sunny Sunday.
Galia was concerned about the farmhouse and I was concerned about my sweet corn and melons. We had water pouring in from the ceiling of the bathroom, but that’s okay it is a wet room in any case. The septic tank had flooded and half a metre of water was standing on the concrete surface so it was out with nothing on expect a pair of underpants wading through the flood water in torrential wind and rain to clear a drainage point that have clogged up with branches that had fallen from the linden tree.
Would you believe that during these storms on Saturday afternoon we had a barbecue! The summer house has a little a metre square tin roof, but this wasn’t enough to prevent the forced rain and hailstones that hit from a vertical angle in the gusts of up to 80 mph winds. I was forced to withdraw right into the summerhouse and continue amongst the tremendous noisy of weather that was around us. I was having a ball, what fun, living a bit on the edge is something that just hits the mark, Galia thinks otherwise, but then she ate the barbecued tikvichki and pigs ears and thanked me for making the effort as we ate dinner under candle light. We went to bed at 8:30 that evening and just listened for ages at nature at work around us
The series of violent storms wasn’t the highlight of the weekend though. After the wild weather the calm and another simple yet effective food was experience on Sunday. 
There was Dill Potatoes, a basic dish knocked up in forty minutes of which I have given details of this dish and recipe in my Herbsways blog. Then there was the simple strawberry milk shake made from this morning’s goat’s milk from next door, freshly picked strawberries picked from from the farmhouse grounds and a touch of sugar. A bit of technology from a liquidiser once we got our electric back and Galia had her first every Strawberry milk shake. This was another weekend that was different and not expected in July, which is meant to be the dry season. My well is also very happy for the extra water, which again was taken back to Yambol with us along with all the other home grown vegetables. I won’t mention the carrot that disappeared before I could take a picture of it and I won’t mention Galia’s name!
The storms one after another last from Saturday midday through to around midnight. We counted the number of storms that cascaded upon us to around 6. Throughout that time we had no power as unbeknown to us the power cable had been severed with trees beating on them. It wasn’t until Sunday lunchtime that we realised that it was only our street in Skalitsa that had been cut off for 24 hours when an massive cherry picker came to chop down the culprit trees across the road from us to free up the electric cables that were entangled. The whole neighbourhood came along to watch on this now sunny Sunday.Galia was concerned about the farmhouse and I was concerned about my sweet corn and melons. We had water pouring in from the ceiling of the bathroom, but that’s okay it is a wet room in any case. The septic tank had flooded and half a metre of water was standing on the concrete surface so it was out with nothing on expect a pair of underpants wading through the flood water in torrential wind and rain to clear a drainage point that have clogged up with branches that had fallen from the linden tree.
Would you believe that during these storms on Saturday afternoon we had a barbecue! The summer house has a little a metre square tin roof, but this wasn’t enough to prevent the forced rain and hailstones that hit from a vertical angle in the gusts of up to 80 mph winds. I was forced to withdraw right into the summerhouse and continue amongst the tremendous noisy of weather that was around us. I was having a ball, what fun, living a bit on the edge is something that just hits the mark, Galia thinks otherwise, but then she ate the barbecued tikvichki and pigs ears and thanked me for making the effort as we ate dinner under candle light. We went to bed at 8:30 that evening and just listened for ages at nature at work around us
The series of violent storms wasn’t the highlight of the weekend though. After the wild weather the calm and another simple yet effective food was experience on Sunday. 
There was Dill Potatoes, a basic dish knocked up in forty minutes of which I have given details of this dish and recipe in my Herbsways blog. Then there was the simple strawberry milk shake made from this morning’s goat’s milk from next door, freshly picked strawberries picked from from the farmhouse grounds and a touch of sugar. A bit of technology from a liquidiser once we got our electric back and Galia had her first every Strawberry milk shake. This was another weekend that was different and not expected in July, which is meant to be the dry season. My well is also very happy for the extra water, which again was taken back to Yambol with us along with all the other home grown vegetables. I won’t mention the carrot that disappeared before I could take a picture of it and I won’t mention Galia’s name!![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_uMxawdBz8ZuTb6YYzaNL_3-_FPHDyXLtrc-i1-77ccsthP9u0Q5owP62ckyflwf_qlvtaE5cseosnBeo8wt8DwvUPgtOr3xMuuiVOhSrQvi3b0SWaAQWcutgouFYzNWFpGiu8eD9jujkFG89lfYKM=s0-d)
I love the weather, particularly the current monsoon rains, true they do flood parts but the smell of the wet earth is fantastic. Normally it is not windy here but immediately before a storm cell hits the wind is near hurricane force bending the palm trees and depositing coconuts everywhere.
ReplyDeleteI never walk when its windy-too dangerous!
Storms are grim at the time but I do like to reflect on the awesome power of nature after the events.
ReplyDeleteMartin , I think all around the world , there is unusal weather , and here in Whang Pho we are of course like most of Thailand in the rainy season and 15 provinceshave been warned about high winds and rain so we will buckle down the hatch and wait and see , we have had slow rain for two days so far , but no rain. glad you have ever thing under control there at home and on the farm , we have no control over nature and I love to see it in all it's Glory , as long as we can be safe , . take care and stay safe . I think I have the ciomment problen on my post so your comment will be welcomed if you find the time , give our Hello's as always to Galia from me and Ciejay. Malcolm
ReplyDeleteWow , those strawberry shakes sound so good, I use to make them all the time when we lived in Oregon in the USA , for your info Lebanon,Oregon , just a couple miles south of where we lived is the strawberry captial of the world and me and Ciejay made the money to retire and buy our home in the LOS selling them for two seasons ,along with all the other fruit and veggies that are raised localy there .Strawberry Shakes my favorite. Malcolm
ReplyDeleteI think I would be scared too! 80 MPH winds... Hope everything is patched up by now.
ReplyDeleteHI Mike,
ReplyDeleteCoconuts are the main killer in your part of the world I believe.
In awe of such extreme weather, we are very vunerable.
ReplyDeleteHI Malcolm and CieJay,
ReplyDeleteIf your time is up then your time is up. Weathers may play a part in that, but no hiding under the bed at every moment, you have to live life a bit.
Take care
That's a whopper of a sweetcorn you are holding there Malcolm! I recall this before with All your hard work paying off. :)
ReplyDeleteHi JaPRA,
ReplyDeleteNot much needed patching up in the end, the local homes are built from solid material that withstand such forces very well. Crops are a different story though.
Hi, Martin,
ReplyDeleteNature can be terrifying and even though the thought of a violent storm would send shivers up and down my spine, it is almost a thrilling kind of shiver. I cannot recall being in the midst of one, so the anxiety that would accompany it is yet unknown to me. In Ohio, we had had some wind and rain storms that knocked down trees in our back yard and split another in our front yard, but it wasn't really violent. Glad to see that you enjoyed it, though. Hope your crops recover.
Martin, you are having waaaaay too much fun. :-)
ReplyDeleteI happen to love thunderstorms and rainy days. But then I also love sunny, spring days...hot summer days and vivid fall days.
We also had our weekend of heavy rain and stormy weather here in Bucharest (some ~ 400 - 500 km away from you). Now we're "due" for some really hot days, with temperatures exceeding 36 degrees...So we also "enjoy" the extreme weather...
ReplyDelete