As Phil mentioned in his main report this month was notable for the high winds of the 18th and 19th of the month.

While with one notable exception the farm sustained little stuctural damage, many trees however were not so lucky.

I took a stroll along the banks of the dane and discovered that many of the willows had sustained a degree of damage and several had been blown over.

I was a little saddened to see that this particular willow had been damage as I have spent many hours during the summer sat on the river bank relaxing underneath its canopy.

A little further along and a much smaller tree has been completely blown over. in this case it is right across the river.

It will be interesting to see what it collects in its branches which act as a crude filter as the water passes through them.

 

It is not just the trees that have been affected by the storm.

Here, a large section of riverbank has collapsed into the river. It is the sediment from such collapses that contribute to the, at times chocolate colour of the river.

Much of the land through which the river Dane flows is composed of soft glacial deposits left behind at the end of the last ice age. It is easy eroded by the power of the river in times of flood.

Back to the trees and about 50 yards (45mtrs) further along the bank and yet more tree damage.

Here a large willow has been split in half along the length of its trunk, with the fallen half ending up in the river.

The photograph on the left shows a view looking up the tree from its base.

The damage to this tree is as you can see, exstensive. I think that its days may be numbered.

Looking across the river from its base you can see the debris that is starting to collect in the fallen branches.

I mentioned at the start of this report that with one exception the actual farm buildings had sustained little damage.

Well here it is, and guess what it is Phils latest construct that suffered the wrath of nature.

The building is situated in what used to be the farm orchard and many of the trees are getting on in years.

The photographs, taken after part of the offending object had been removed show that the damage was not due a construction defect but rather the failure of a large but elderly apple tree.

While at first it appeared that a large amont of damage had been done to the building, a safety inspection revealed that structurally the building was sound and that a few hours replacing the building blocks of the damaged section of wall would be all that was needed to have the building as good as new again

Obviously the damage was not just limited to Greenheyes, I was at work the day of the storm and had to treat many people who had been injured as a result of the high winds.

See you next month Andy.

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