It’s been a week of watching and waiting; watching the skies and waiting for the promised storms to arrive.
While Monday’s tempest caused chaos for those around us, it very obligingly sidestepped Darfield – and our newly nude sheep.
Not that we were that worried as, for the first time in forever, every animal on the property has weather-tight shelter with it’s back to the nasty southerly. We cannot fully express the joy this creates; A wonderful feeling that left us free to enjoy the magnificence of Wednesday’s storm with a collective clear conscience.
That Xanthe Cat, with her access-all-areas Homestead pass, chose to weather the weather from under a flax bush is simply proof positive that it takes all sorts.
As you can probably tell, the skies out here are still a thing of wonder to us: Star-crammed at night, and telling all kinds of stories we still can’t quite decode during the daylight hours. Those that have the knowledge are still folk of wonder to us; people like Chris the Shelterbelt trimmer, who aptly illustrated his magic when The Milk Maid threw herself in front of his tractor as he prepared to pull away from our adjoining neighbour’s perfectly sculptured front hedge.
Was he interested in having a go at ours, she asked hopefully (because sometimes it pays to be a little cheeky). He jumped out of the cab, looked to the South, looked at our shelterbelt, did that pursed-lips, sharp-intake-of-breath thing folk do round here when they’re weighing things up and said, yep, he reckoned he’d have time.
This left us with just the clean-up which we felt totally justified in leaving on account of the atrocious weather. That is, until today
Farm Girl and The Milk Maid quickly received a helping hand from The Farmer and Princess Nikita. Unfortunately, no photographic evidence of their input exists, mainly because the photographer could barely hold herself up let alone a camera by this stage.
Union Homestead 
You certainly have wide horizons where you are now – even wider wth that hedge trimmed down a bit. Those goat shelters look fabulous…are they anchored in some way, or portable? I’ve lived in the same place for more or less 40 years and I still don’t totally have the weather signs worked out. I thought my neighbour, Hay Guy, did but it turns out he listens to the government weather channel on the radio :). I’ve heard that the southerly on the Canterbury Plains can be ferocious, and I definitely noticed all the substantial shelter belts there a few years ago. We don’t have those here on the Island, but they do on the Prairies.
We’re feeling a little exposed at the moment but we’ll get used to it and you’re right: the horizon is huge!
The goat houses are dug in a little at the bottom and don’t seem to have moved.
The winds are pretty fierce here but the house has been placed on the section with that in mind so we feel pretty secure. Im relatively sure the weather will always be a mystery to me…Im not cut out to be a wisewoman😁
What an interesting post with wonderful pictures of the stormy skies. Glad everyone is now protected from the Southerly.
Thank you, Susan, I was quite impressed with my phone cameras ability.
Great skyscapes. I am glad that you are now organised for the weather.
It is a huge relief!!
The video of the tornado in Christchurch looked a bit scary! All those cars driving about seemingly unaware there was a giant hoover in the sky just about to suck them up!
I’m glad you are all safe and sound and suffered no damage. Your shelter belt looks fine and will certainly protect you from most of the bad weather, I’m sure. I love the photos of the stormy skies!
All this tornado stuff is a bit new to us. We folk who have a few years under our belts tend to scratch our heads and remark that they didnt exist when we were kids. Not here anyway. Or maybe my memory is flawed…
I’m sure your memory isn’t flawed. Weather is very different to what it was just a few years ago.
Great photos the weather is very creative isn’t it, love the hedge looks amazing. All the little shelters it looks like a little village, have you named it.
We fancy that the goat houses have a definite Swiss chalet feel to them. The name Goa-topia has been bandied about 😁
Love it.:)
Hi, The green of the turf in your photographs is almost blinding. The countryside around here is summer brown. We had a vile day here last Thursday week with damaging winds causing havoc. It will take days to clean up the Castlemaine Botanical Gardens. I watched the remains of an old cypress being carried away on the back of a semi trailer yesterday.
The weather is crazy! We’ve not really had 2 consecutive days of similar weather: a day jn the high 20s is followed by rain and southerlies. Our hay is starting to brown up now, though…slowly but surely.