Storm Eowyn - The Damage

Storm Eowyn came with a vengeance at the end of January and left a trail of destruction on the smallholding. All the recent hard work we had put into our new site, not to mention the huge expense, looked like being destroyed in one of the worst storms the UK had seen for many years.

Although we were in an amber warning area the ferocity of the wind was frightening and I can only imagine the total devastation experienced by those in the red warning areas and my heart goes out to them. Nature can be downright relentless at times and there is absolutely nothing we can do when the storms rage as they did on Friday 24th January – it is a day that will be etched in my memory for a long time to come.

We lost three brand new shelters when storm Eowyn raged across the UK along with metres and metres of new fencing, but we were lucky. Although the strength of the wind literally lifted the shelters from the goats and pigs that were bedding down, all animals were unhurt which is a huge relief in itself. Shelters can be replaced and fencing can be repaired but the safety of my animals is paramount.

It was a lengthy job catching five terrified pygmy goats so that we could get them to safety and even then, we had to wheelbarrow them out of the paddock as they were simply too frightened to walk. Catching the pigs was even more of a problem. We managed to get Dotty and Dolly into our trailer but Huxley was having none of it and steadfastly refused to get into the trailer. Once the goats and the two pigs we did manage to catch, were safely ensconced in nice warm stables we took the trailer back to Huxley’s paddock and left it filled with straw and food hoping that once he had calmed down, he might venture inside so we could transport him to the stable with his friends. It took until 10.00 pm when the winds had finally started to lull for Huxley to find the courage to climb into the trailer. The relief that he wouldn’t be left outside alone, without shelter, all night was huge.

The next morning, the sun shone brightly and a gentle breeze swayed the branches of the trees. There was no trace of the storm until I looked out of the window at the devastation it had caused. On closer inspection, it appeared that, although the goat and pig shelters had been flipped completely over there were just a few broken panels. They would need to be dismantled to get them back into the paddocks they should be in and all the doors would need to realigned but it could have been much worse.

Surprisingly, the door to the greenhouse and a couple of glass windows also blew out but not one piece of glass had been broken. Nature works in mysterious ways. Often it is wonderful, but sometimes it is downright dangerous and I thank my lucky stars that for us, at least, the damage can be rectified.

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