Rain, rain, go away

                                      

These last couple of days we have had the revenge of the warm seas which were heated to record temperatures this long, toasty summer.
The redress took the form of a violent  storm which started on Saturday  and is still spitting along now.  Its a storm that has killed at least three people and sent the sea careening onto the Promenade des Anglais, a freaky sight which we see more frequently each year.


http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/06/uk-france-weather-idUSLNE7A500320111106

     According to the Nice Matin , the Best of Nice Blog and Reuters, it was quite a destructive force. 

http://www.bestofniceblog.com/2011/11/08/storms-floods-wreak-havoc-on-the-cote-dazur/


Marineworld in Antibes was one of the worst affected.  The park suffered many losses of property and animals as rain built up and leaked into the tanks destroying the balance of the aquariums and putting their 4000 species in danger.     Farmers, hotels and residences have stories of loss and wreckage.  The famous fire fighters of France,called " Pompiers" were put to the test and in many cases were literally "pumpers" as in the case of Marineworld.

For ourselves we are fine but it is always so hard to accept that we are not and can never be  prepared. 


During big storms, I tremble that the hill behind will fall from water saturation  because our house, remodeled by the former owner,  is placed perilously close to a cliff-like hill.   We just had one small "chute de terre" this time which will comprise of a couple of bags full of rocks.   The force of this storm was too much for our clean rain gutters however, the water jumping over and coming through the eaves and across the downspouts.  I haven't seen this kind of deluge since Milan where umbrellas were useless and the streets cleared within minutes as everyone took shelter.  


When we have one of these downpours I am reminded of my Oklahoma "farm girl"  mother saying " It's raining pitchforks and bull yearlings".... and  I understand also, a little about the quality of surrender which she tried to teach me. 
It's what I would really like to cultivate, an ability to surrender and stay flexible.
In Surrender 101, if there were such a class, they would teach us that from the point of view of a plant, a storm like this is a bonanza!   


Indeed, all the irises I transplanted last week have already grown a few centimeters.     If I were a plant I would be saying, "finally some decent weather!"