The Calm Before the Storm
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| Wednesday, 1 October 2025 |
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| Friday, 3 October 2025 |
October is Breast Cancer Awareness (and fundraising) month here in Sweden - and if memory serves me right, I think in a number of other countries as well (?) Anyway, when walking into town on Friday, I found these temporary pink decorations added on one of the bridges across the river... Reminding me both of the friends I have lost to breast cancer over the years - and those who survived. (Note to self: Make an extra donation to cancer research.)
The Storm
With sunny and calm autumn weather all week so far, it was almost hard to believe the forecasts about the storm expected to blow in over us on Saturday, and likely to wreak havoc here and there. I decided to take the warnings seriously, though, so spent Friday afternoon taking in some things from my balcony. I took my foldable "sun chair" down to winter storage in the basement, made room for my geraniums on the window sill in the living room, and even tied my wooden bench to the balcony railing. Felt a bit silly doing that with the sun shining from a perfect blue sky - but...
... when Storm Amy arrived on Saturday, she did prove to be quite capricious. I can't say I noticed her wreaking any serious havoc just around my street (and we stayed connected to electricity and internet all day) - but I followed her adventures on my local newspaper app during the day, and it seems she behaved quite badly elsewhere in town, uprooting and throwing big trees around (blocking roads, and damaging buildings), and even managed to tear an old steamboat loose from its jetty in the lake north of town...
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| My own photo of the steamboat on a calmer day... |
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| Photo from our local newspaper |
The photo above, copied from the local newspaper's website, shows how a tree fell on an apartment building (not in my street, but another part of town). Luckily it did not break any windows, but it caused some damage to a couple of balconies.
Today it still kept raining all day; but in the afternoon the wind had died down, and I went for a short walk around a few of the neighbouring buildings in connection with taking out some rubbish to the bins at the corner. (Only about 10 minutes or so, though, and in spite of both umbrella and raincoat I also felt need to change my trousers when I got back in...)
Linking to Weekend Street/Reflections
A storm with the same name as me - wow! My nana passed away from breast cancer and my mother's 2 sisters have had double mastectomies so I get mine checked regularly.
ReplyDeleteAmy, yes, when I first saw the name of the storm it made me think of you!! (lol) We are offered mammography checkups here every second year or so between age 40 and 74. As far as I know there's no history of breast cancer in my family. But I have had several friends and acquaintances who died from it, so I have always gone to the checkups that I've been offered. (Only one "scare" so far, and that was the very first time! But turned out to be "nothing".)
DeleteYour thoughtful preparations and reflections capture both the tenderness of remembrance and the quiet wisdom of respecting nature’s unpredictable moods.
ReplyDelete"Better safe than sorry", Ro... 😉
DeleteI'm so glad your area stayed safe. That tree on the apartments, it is a miracle it did not do more damage than it did. Your reflection is gorgeous with the red trees. Your Geraniums are gorgeous; I love the colors! And the yellow trees at the end are beautiful as well.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ginny. Personally I had no reason to worry much about the storm, as I didn't have to go out in it. (And no trees that close to my own windows or balcony...)
DeleteI love those red trees that look like they are floating, and the orange tree too. I am glad you and your area are safe.
ReplyDeleteThanks Terra
DeleteI‘ve had a false alarm for breadt cancer close to 20 years ago and have been invited to mammography every other year since. It is one of the few medical appointments I do take seriously.
ReplyDeleteThe storm was rather forceful here (at O.K.‘s) on Saturday and Sunday, with thunder and lightning on Saturday night, and quite a bit of rain. But apart from a large potted bougainvillea falling over, no damage was done around the houses of O.K. and his Mum. We went for walks on both days, rain jackets on, hoods off and on, avoiding the woods.
Meike, avoiding areas with tall old trees is indeed to be recommended in stormy weather...
DeleteCapricious is the perfect word. It's always worrying when there are so many trees in the vicinity, and the apartments were fortunate not to have sustained more serious damage.
ReplyDeleteJanice, it must have been a scary experience for those living in that building - but a relief that it did not cause more serious damage.
DeleteAre those red trees Acers? They look spectacular - especially against the sombre grey building.Glad that you more or less escaped Storm Amy - makes sense to clear your balcony - just in case! The storm didn't reach as far south as us but we did have high winds and much to our relief, some much-needed rain.
ReplyDeleteCarol, I don't know what kind of trees those are. Not what I'd call the usual kind of maple (Acer), I think - but maybe there are sub-species?
DeleteBetter safe than sorry is my motto and glad you followed it and then did not need it. I love your sweet little balcony. the flowers look great on the window sill. we are approaching the 1 year anniversary of the worst storm I was ever in and so far have been safe, but we have 8 more weeks to watch and wait
ReplyDeleteSandra, I don't doubt I did the right thing in taking in the geranium pots, at least. And I'll probably keep those indoors now, as the risk of night frost will increase with the progress of autumn as well. I usually strip the balcony of pretty much everything around Halloween and until spring anyway - except for the bench which usually stays, wrapped in a tarpaulin.
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