Yesterday’s weather was exciting. Top wind speed was 48 knots (55 mph), which classifies it as a Storm on the Beaufort Scale. I couldn’t walk against it. The weather station recorded it as the highest for the year and gave a wind warning and told us to hold onto our hats. It was so loud we couldn’t hear the foghorn.

The rider mower and the weather station are my two favorite gadgets here. The jury is still deciding if the mower is going to remain on island but I think I may have fixed the temperature sensor on the weather station by connecting a wire, which was loose.

We had already boarded up the house and put outdoor furniture, grills and planters away. Our only casualty was a broken oar on the dinghy. We checked the boat during the strong winds and it was secure but there was a new moon and very high tide and it must have been tossed around.

The dinghy was fine, except for sand and seaweed washed into it
 but the working end of paddle broke off and rendered it useless. We had a few extra oars in the boat house and I drilled a hole in one for the oarlock and it looks fine. It’s too rough to test it today because it’still very windy but we should get a chance tomorrow.