Valkyrie Posted February 16, 2020 Share Posted February 16, 2020 It must have eased off last night because I didn't hear the wind and no rain when I let the birds out. Wind is a little gusty now, but the rain is heavier and steadier. The flood outside has reappeared as it eventually managed to cope last night and drained away. Since the rain has started the flood is reappearing for the 7th time - the runoff from the fields is too much for it to cope with. The drain on the other side of the road (Somerset) is next to useless as it is on a higher part of the road - go figure! Like what water will go down that anyway! Any water that does seep down there is directed to the Devon drain because there is a huge channel carved out of the bedrock running down the road underneath the driveway. It then reaches a culvert that goes under the road and down the lane - this is the county boundary, which follows the lane down to a stream. The stream is then the county boundary. That culvert also takes the rain water from the hill the other side of us. Further along the other side of the hill in front of us, the water goes to another stream which adds to the river Lowman and that in turn joins the river Exe! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 16, 2020 Share Posted February 16, 2020 It is raining AGAIN, and getting windy... I so wanted to get the dogs out for a good run before it started. Just off out to clean out the chooks, then put them back in and might just tog up and get out for a walk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullethunter Posted February 16, 2020 Share Posted February 16, 2020 18 hours ago, Luvachicken said: chickens are back in my dining room. I’d like to see a photo of that! 17 hours ago, The Dogmother said: have closed the bedroom window (yes, it IS that bad) Same here last night DM. It was SO loud until the early hours of the morning but since then has been considerably calmer. Still raining but not so heavy - most of our shorter rivers are dropping now with just the big ones still rising. Have opened the chicken run and silly Camilla the campine, Shirley the Plymouth Rock and the three Dutch girls are out getting soaked 🙄 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvachicken Posted February 16, 2020 Share Posted February 16, 2020 42 minutes ago, mullethunter said: I’d like to see a photo of that! I will see what I can do. They were in the broody cage though, so not that exciting Just raining here at the moment. All trees still standing and even the dangly branch in next door's pine tree is still there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 16, 2020 Share Posted February 16, 2020 Cleaned out the chooks in the rain and did a spot clean at the front of one run where the rain had got in; all that strapping down and bricks on the runs last night paid off - less flapping of tarps and all sound and dry today. Chooks were ranting to get out earlier, so they had a play while I cleaned them out, then scurried back under cover when the rain started again. Walked the dogs in the rain, and we quite enjoyed it until the homeward stretch was into the wind and rain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted February 16, 2020 Share Posted February 16, 2020 Band of thunder and lightening spreading across from the west now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 16, 2020 Share Posted February 16, 2020 Ooo, enjoy Just wondered what the noise was outside - really windy hail squall hammering on the windows! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted February 16, 2020 Share Posted February 16, 2020 And now we have thunder and lightening to the north of us! Sheesh! Shortly after we had and still having a whoosh of wind with it.! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickenlicken Posted February 16, 2020 Share Posted February 16, 2020 I opened the front door about two hours ago to grab my welly shoes (normally dry in the porch) and got hit by hailstones the size of marbles. It sounds all quiet out there now. My garden is like a marsh though. Should be fun setting up the run etc at the weekend! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 16, 2020 Share Posted February 16, 2020 I have had to dot paving slabs down the garden as the 'grass'... mud.... is far too wet and slippy to walk on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullethunter Posted February 18, 2020 Share Posted February 18, 2020 Just had the loudest and brightest clap of thunder / flash of lightning I’ve ever experienced. I was watching the small but very potent storm cloud get closer and closer - even with a 30 second gap between lightning and thunder it was loud so I new they must be big ones, but then all of a sudden, after about 5 minutes of quiet, an absolute bomb went off right above us - momentarily blinded me, made me jump so badly I did a LOT of swearing and instantly caused the power to go off as far as I could see. Very dramatic!!! I went make sure the girls were ok, and they said ‘will you go away with that torch it’s hard enough to sleep out here as it is’ - there’s gratitude for you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 18, 2020 Share Posted February 18, 2020 I can see those on the lightening maps - much as I love storms, I hope they don't come up this way - codul do without being woken up by the dogs howling in the small hours. We had a biblical flood at 4.30 this afternoon - it got blacker and blacker, then the heavens opened. It was so loud on the office roof that it was like very loud white noise! Roads are flooded again and the drains are bubbling up alongside the roads. I see that there's more rain due this week too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapdragon Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 We have had rain and wind first thing but bright and sunny by 10am so able to totter round to the village. Hoping to get the bedding out and dry in the breeze shortly and ES might mow the grass (if he wants his pocket money!) It's looking very long and unkempt and needs a tidy up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 After some heavy snow from 5am, it is now all dripping. Just 2deg though and the roads are clear. Like we need any more wet! We aren't flooded like some poor folks, but everywhere is very boggy and the water table is so high that any further rain pushes it over the edge and all the drains start to bubble up alongside the roads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beantree Posted March 2, 2020 Share Posted March 2, 2020 Been told that where we used to live was under water last week, apparently that last happened in 1986, something not mentioned when we bought the place from the people living there at the time, although I did ask. Fortunately the house is set a fair bit higher than the garden and so is the parking area. Yesterday morning was lovely; managed to do some work outside. But that all changed later and we started with hail, rain all night, winds picking up to quite a strength and increasing later today with thunderstorms. Just been into the barn, where we discovered yesterday a Salamander had dug in to get to the chicken's food; seems its hole has diverted the rainwater and now the corner is wet. Had a look out the back at the rapidly growing weeds in the walkway with the intention of pulling some out between showers and noticed something missing; a poplar tree. It was looking rather sick and so was due to be taken down and replaced in Autumn, but now that part of the job is done. Fortunately the farmer's fence is only slightly damaged. The tree trunk, about a foot diameter, has snapped off at the base, so it was definitely sick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted March 6, 2020 Share Posted March 6, 2020 The sheep have been put on the field below us, but this time they've put up an electric fence to save some of the grass. Well that didn't last long, 2 days later and the sheep made a bid for freedom for that nice grass on the other side! By the evening the fence had been trampled down and everyone was in the field. As I went to put the girls to bed I noticed the quad bikes and sheepdogs doing a round up and they put the fence back up. We can see the muddy line against the fence and for the most part the field has changed from pretty green to pretty grubby. So this morning there were a couple of escapees - this evening everyone was out again. One farmer has had trouble getting his sheep on the fields, having the fields spread around, he loads them up in a trailer. Trailers get stuck in the mud and so did his Landy. So another field, stuck again, someone came to help tow and they got stuck too. Wife came in her Range Rover but couldn't pull hard enough so in the end had to get a tractor to help. I guess the farmers are running out of bedding and feed and need to get their animals on good ranging, but the ground is saturated and not long before it is turned into a quagmire. Our ground hasn't had a chance to dry, one day it is dry and good to walk on but if we have another deluge (and when it rains, it is prolonged heavy rain - and sleet!) it is so bad. The other day was the first I'd seen laying pools of water on the lawn and in the field. Poor Fudge has a muddy tum and that's just rummaging around under the walnut tree! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted March 29, 2020 Share Posted March 29, 2020 After basking in all that sun last week, it is freezing now - there's a nasty north wind blasting across the garden, very strong at times. A few light hail/snow showers, and generally vile. Cat has been on the bed all day! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted March 29, 2020 Share Posted March 29, 2020 I never realised you had cats until today - never thought to look at your signature until I went what? eh? what? Gorgeous comfy catty. No snow here but it did threaten with a lot of black clouds but they passed without shedding their load. Quite sunny when they went, but very windy - supposedly 48mph and bitterly cold. I couldn't see any frost this morning, but there was ice on the duck pools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted March 29, 2020 Share Posted March 29, 2020 Fat Boy is especially cuddly, and an old boy now at 12. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullethunter Posted March 29, 2020 Share Posted March 29, 2020 Unbelievably after 6 months of rain I’m now having to water all my pots! Was cold and windy here too but still mid 20s in the greenhouse - or book reading room as it currently is! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted March 29, 2020 Share Posted March 29, 2020 Yes, our ground is cracked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted March 29, 2020 Share Posted March 29, 2020 My cascade of water butts is now half empty. And to think that I was saying last month "I shall be very cross (or words to that effect) if there's a drought this summer". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beantree Posted March 30, 2020 Share Posted March 30, 2020 It's snowing down here, which is very unusual, but fortunately not settling. Very cold NW wind as well so the central heating will be back on for a few days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted March 30, 2020 Share Posted March 30, 2020 Cold and cloudy here this morning, no rain (or snow) forecast for the next 3 days... who'd have thought 6 months ago that we would be wishing for a bit of rain? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted March 30, 2020 Share Posted March 30, 2020 Day 10 of sunshine - with more clouds but plenty of blue in between. They've let the dairy cows out today - they all marched over to a field somewhere out of my sight - probably across the road further around. I bet the cows are soooo happy that when they reach the field they'll be galloping around like calves for a short while! There are more cows in the dairy yard, so their turn next. Not much of a wind, but when it does blow it is blooming cold! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
