After the Storm

We all survived Hurricane Irene. Sheep, llamas, goat, people – all fine here. There are even pears left on the tree. We were very lucky.

Here are a few shots of the farm yesterday afternoon:

Sol Llama, sheep, foxfire fiber

Fiber flock of sheep, foxfire fiberSol llama, fiber sheep flock. foxfire fiber

Before the storm we had taken measures to keep the sheep well away from risky, flood-prone closest to the brook. They weathered the storm just fine. Oddly enough, they preferred standing outside in the rain, heads pointed into the wind making me really wonder what goes on inside their wooly hears. I supposefFor them last Sunday was just another very windy, rainy day.

That was not the case for many others. In case you haven't heard, this storm wreaked complete havoc on the flatlands of Franklin County, Massachusetts. Our village of Shelburne Falls took the brunt of the Deerfield River's flooding, after water was released from two dams upriver at the height of the storm. A record volume of water swept through the heart of town, washing out homes, roads and businesses.

This video tells the tale:

 

 

Ann Brauer's quilt studio is the pink building that floats towards toward the falls. Both the Iron Bridge and the Bridge of Flowers were awash and have been closed since Sunday (the Iron Bridge re-opened to pedestrian traffic yesterday).

The village is coming together for the recovery effort. Remarkably, most businesses up and operating (except for those hardest hit).

When the village was evacuated on Sunday, Holly, Chris and their cat Mikey Two Potatoes came to the farm to ride out the storm. I've been teasing Holly that she picked a heck of a reason to come back and visit the farm. Chris's restaurant, The Blue Rock, suffered flooding when the Deerfield River jumped its banks.
With help from a  big crew of volunteers, he and Holly are working hard to clean up and get back in action.

In the case of this storm, our elevation was to our advantage. We feel fortunate to have been spared the worst of it. Our hearts go out to our neighbors, friends and community – and beyond. Amazing that one storm had such widespread disaster.

Thank you everyone for your concern. Our thoughts are with those who were impacted by Irene.