farmdoc's blog post number 54

In the wee hours of last Wednesday Mother Nature was angry. Exceedingly angry. In my sixty seven months of living in this house, that was the fiercest wind of all. Its howling kept me awake for hours. At breakfast as I topped up the kettle for coffee, the water pressure was weak. Then I set out for work. Rounding the first bend I saw what I half expected – this giant wattle tree blocking the driveway, and water gushing down the roadside spoon drain confirming the wattle had pierced the poly pipe that supplies water to the house from the header tank. I did not work on Wednesday. My friend Janet rushed to the clinic to give my apology to my first patient; the insurance people postponed my three appointments by 24 hours; my neighbour Phonse wielded his big chainsaw deftly; my darling Emily sent me poetic words of encouragement; my Vivienne was a sweetheart; and my friend, neighbour and sharefarmer Sharon replaced the water pipe’s 5cm gashed section with a joiner. The header tank lost about 15,000 litres which almost emptied it. My life goes on. I saw Wednesday’s patients on Thursday. I am healthy. Mother Nature again showed me that Homo sapiens can’t compete with her. And I am humbled, and blessed, by how wonderful people were to me in my time of need.