…Dastardly Debbie was heading for landfall just a few miles north of us.
In case we lost power, I did a hasty menu revision and baked a quiche.Because my oven is electric and if the power runs away and hides (our power is a total wuss!) I can still cook fish and curry and soup on the gas hobs.
So…quiche and salad and a nice bottle of wine and and a night of whine and moan and crash as the wind whipped through palms and trees.
In daylight we could see lots of leaves and twiggy branches and seed heads littering the lawn and pathway. But no major damage. Of course, it will get much rougher in a few hours, but we should be OK Chez Dinahmow. Thoughts are with others who have already suffered some damage.
What does storm damage along a tropical coast look like? Well, not Brochure Blue, for a start! More Battleship Grey. We did a brief run out a while ago and I took the little camera and snapped a few frames from the car.
This is a Casuarina at the Lifeguard Station.
And a sister Casuarina, a few metres away.
I was hoping to “catch” a big wave breaking, but another tourist came along!
We did not stay out long. I may go down to the beach when this nonsense has blown itself out…
In the meantime, I have some small plant pots taking up space in the laundry, but that’s OK as I shant be doing any laundry til the storm has passed!
A Plumeria (frangipani to Australians) and 3 small cuttings of Dichorisandra.
…and then the power went out.Followed a few hours later by the ‘phone…
Monday, April 3.
The world, or at least my small corner of it, is returning to normal. That cyclone has left millions of dollars worth of damage in its wake, all the way down the Queensland coast and into NSW.
Some of the near neighbours joined The Man and me yesterday in removing fallen trees, branches, palms. The City Council will organise kerbside clearance over the next week or two. I have a lot of work to do in the gardens here, but it’s relatively small and can wait til things are more settled.
Thank you all for checking in, via email and Facebook. Let’s close this chapter with something amusing.Not to say apposite for anyone still facing power cuts. (think about it…) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQHX-SjgQvQ
Moreidlethoughts Weblog 
I am v glad you got out relatively unscathed. And my heart aches for the birds, critters, people who didn’t.
That help desk was much nicer and less patronising than any I have ever dealt with.
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Thank you.
Help desk? I’m thinking of sending that to Mumbai!
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At least you had a quiche to eat while you sat out the storm.
The medieval help desk is priceless, I’ll save it for a gloomy day x
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Celia, thanks for popping in. This city came off very lightly this time. As the check-out lady said today, “We dodged that bullet!” And that help desk is a classic! Hope all’s well with you.I did see some Studio Cats helping in the garden.:-)
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Oh Debbie – sorry Dinahmow, Debbie escaped me …
And thank you for this informative help desk, it really helped with some basic difficulties. Some “text” seemed to be written wrong side up lately. I’m working on a solution.
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Splendid idea! I hope you make lots of Euros
🙂
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So glad that you guys are safe. Good pix of the angry ocean. On the plus side, after a storm is a good time to look for seashells on the beach.
Oh, Plumeria! Had three Plumeria trees in the yard on Maui.
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Mine have all suffered badly from rust this year;it seems to prevalent all down the East coast.Perhaps Dirty Deb will have blown the spores out to sea?
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Wow! Those pics are fantastic! You guys sure know how to throw a party. Stay dry. Don’t drip.
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“party” is synonomous with “Aussie” I think!
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I must have being living under one of those rocks in the first pic as it’s the first time I’ve heard about cyclone Debs. Hope you’re all safe and sound.
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Gee, Mitzi! Your tabloids have so many other things to take up column inches, you’re forgiven.
We’re OK and others are getting on with clean-up. Poor Rockhampton is facing a NINE METRE flood level! And you’re stuck with the Brexit fall-out…
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I’m glad to hear that you and yours survived the hurricane intact and with no serious damages. Good job saving the potted plants. Growing up in hurricane country, I know that any loose objects need to be tied down or secured indoors, lest they become flying projectiles during fierce winds. I once saw a neighbor’s orange wheelbarrow go airborne–it was later found wedge on top of a tree, three streets over.
Thank you for braving the hurricane and risking injury to capture and share with us these awesome pictures showing the fury of nature. I take it you had batten down the hatches (or ply wooded the windows) and stocked up on emergency supplies before your storm safari. At the very least, I hope you had a sharp knife in case you had to hunt down some kangaroos for some post hurricane BBQ.
P.S. Mom had puas (plumerias) of all sorts (white, yellow, red, pink striped, etc). To deal with the rust, we did this, and it was effective:
Remove infected leaves and discard in the trash–don’t compost it! Mix 1 heaping tablespoon of baking soda and 1 tablespoon of horticultural oil (or 1 tablespoon of neem oil–check the gardening aisle), plus 1 squirt of dish soap in 1 gallon of water.
Spray your entire plant with mixture, even after rain or irrigation, once per week, especially during new growth. The organic fungicide rids the rust without harming the plants. Good luck and stay safe!
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Oh, I didn’t take any silly risks out there! And, yes, we removed things that might have gone flying, like the shade sails above the back deck.But the carpark at a local supermarket didn’t and even before the worst of the ‘cane blew through their black sails were like those Death Eaters from Harry Potter!
Thanks for the rust tip.Yes, I have been removing infected leaves, but held off spraying as they will drop soon and I’ll take action in Spring.
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We seem to have swapped weather systems – I’ve just been down to the beach here and was treated to positively Australian sun! I’ll post photos soon. Still no shags, though…
Glad to hear you weathered the storm in one piece.
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No shags? What is going on in this tapsalteerie world! I look forward to photos. 🙂
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I had to come by after reading your comment over at IDV’s! I didn’t realize you were in NZ, sugar! Glad y’all made it out safely. We’ve all had our share of nasty weather recently. xoxox
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Sav! Welcome to the madhouse.
You’re confused, but most of us are confused here! I am a New Zealander, but live in the Land of Oz.We like to do a trans-Tasman share thing…they send Rugby League players and actors over here and we send the dregs of cyclones over there.
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