Something, obviously, had blown over. And given the number of stones I heard fall, it could only be the yucca on the corner where the balcony wraps around our apartment. But I couldn't understand how that yucca could go anywhere. San Geraldo had bolted it to both walls. I quietly got up and looked through the glass. I couldn't see a yucca silhouette to the right where I knew one should be. I had no idea what other damage had been done. San Geraldo was snoring peacefully (a rarity), so I decided to just let it and him lie until morning (whatever "it" was). After a half hour or so, I managed to fall back to sleep for a while. (Click any, well most, of the photos to enlarge.)
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| OOPS. |
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| WIRED AND OFF THE HOOK. |
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| MORE DIRT... AND ROCKS... TO SWEEP. |
Interestingly, Dudo and Moose didn't drive us crazy this morning to open the doors and windows and let them out. (They have no concept of Daylight Savings Time.) However today, once the sun started to rise, they sat quietly at my window and peered to the right.
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| DUDO: "IS IT SAFE?" |
At 7:30, San Geraldo got up and I told him what I had heard. It was a glorious sunrise and a perfectly calm morning. He was surprised to learn there had been any winds at all during the night. We went outside and, sure enough, the yucca had been blown over. San Geraldo had used L-hooks in the walls and tied the wire to those. Thankfully, both hooks were still solidly affixed to the wall. The plant had simply been shaken enough to jiggle the wire off one side.
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| IMAGINE MY SURPRISE (AND MUSY'S) WHEN I LOOKED THROUGH THE GLASS AND DIDN'T SEE THAT YUCCA. |
Amazingly, the yucca and all that surrounds it were completely unscathed. And my skillfully cut and precisely — expertly — installed plastic covering remained almost perfectly in place atop the soil. San Geraldo will attach things differently this afternoon. I was told this morning by a lifelong resident of Los Boliches that, although it's normally windy here in fall and winter, the kinds of winds we've had on and off recently have been very unusual — coming from strange directions and swirling at times. So, OK, maybe San Geraldo was right (this once) when he called our winds "cyclonic." (Click for a reminder of that.)
A little twist here and a little twist there and all will be well again. The Mediterranean is a huge sea and I suppose the winds can 'pick up' on occasion.
ReplyDeleteLove the look on Dudo's face!! Almost like he is saying/thinking 'I didn't do anything, honest!!' This time!!lol
Jim:
DeleteThankfully, just nice breezes during summer. But the winds in fall and winter can be a bit much. I don't mind them as long as our entire garden doesn't blow off the balcony. Dudo has that look on his face quite often.
Ha! You added a "Beautiful" option! :) I checkmarked it :)
ReplyDelete"Windy" was the verrrrrrry first 45 that I ever owned myself- yes, it was!
I'm sure glad that you didn't have any damage other than needing to re-position the Yucca. Whew!
Judeet:
DeleteHey, Beautiful! Thanks for suggesting the "beautiful" option. The gadget is embarrassingly easy to change. I didn't mention that when I got home from coffee another large pot with a big shrub had blown off it's table at the far end of the terrace. It and it's sister are now on the floor! And the wind is howling right now!
Your Yucca is a really nice plant and I'm sure it was expensive. I'm glad it wasn't damaged. We had a large dieffebachia on the patio over the summer. It got blown over and broken several times. But dieffenbachias are indestructible. Whatever broke off, we just rooted and started a new plant. I gave away several and still have three good-sized plants to keep inside in over the winter.
ReplyDeleteMs. Sparrow:
DeleteWe bought three of those yuccas. They were each about 6 to 7 feet tall and we paid less than $35 a piece! I love dieffenbachia. I had one that was split off a plant my father brought to my mother the day I was born. When we moved to San Francisco when I was 43, I stupidly left it outside and it got waterlogged! A friend had a plant grown from it, but she forgot it when she moved! But I think my mother still has one from the original. Mine actually bloomed every year once it was huge.
I love the wind but this might be a bit much. Still, for that view I'd endure a hurricane.
ReplyDeleteStephen:
DeleteAnd now we're on the Atlantic in autumn. No less windy and a lot colder. Give me the Costa del Sol any day.
I am always taken aback by the fact that you have views of the ocean from your apartment.
ReplyDeleteHere we have wind too, plus horizontal rain, grey skies and only a view of the cows in the field !!
Thanks for the "windy" clip. I had quite forgotten how bands used to dress - those sharp suits and ties.......so odd considering how scruffy they are nowadays.
Jean:
DeleteThat "Windy" video surprised me, too. After a few days here at my mother's on the Atlantic, I will not complain about the winds of Fuengirola (but San Geraldo will continue to do so). I am still surprised when I open my eyes in the morning to that view. I hope I never take it for granted.
Perhaps Dudo and Moose were Arizonans in a previous life. We have no concept of daylight savings time either
ReplyDeleteHK:
DeleteWell, I think Dudo and Moose, and Arizonanans, are on the right track.