The wind cries Mary

One year ago we looked out in the evening and witnessed an unusual drama: crazy dance of snowflakes. This year there is just the usual wind.

Last year on the morning after we woke up to this:

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…whereas this morning’s walk to the station looked more like this:

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  Our only driveway.

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  This tree fell four months ago and is still there.

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  It’s been laid down safely but not towed away.

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  The neighbours’ wall.

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  Paparazzo steals a quick glance that is usually hidden. Nice!

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  Oh! What an orderly wind.

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  Orderly and precise.

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  It had to be a pretty strong wind to cause this.

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  Welcome to Maremma.

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  Star Wars battlefield.

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  Approach with caution. Might not be quite dead.

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  This parking is a bit rugged but Bestia is happy.

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  Another broken pine.

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  Ooops.

The photos are not from today though, it was too cold, but rather from a variety of recent mornings after very windy days. Today was less drastic: no new trees have fallen, but the fences are still more or less in the same state (four months after the strongest wind!) and the smaller trash cans – but not the big one – are lying again. The scene with the bigger one and the cypress trees looks like the aftermath of a Star Wars battle.

One time I spotted somebody taking advantage of the situation:

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  No cat.

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  Cat.

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Elsewhere, for example in Rome where at least two people died, the wind was no laughing matter. Also from the Adriatic coast in Croatia record wind speeds are reported.

I hope that this scene four years ago was the harshest aftermath we will ever encounter around here: upturned heavy wooden table and scattered tangerines, and a pine tree narrowly missing the neighbour’s car.

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