The rain is constant, though not heavy. It blows in under the veranda, making the terracotta tiles slippery.
The wild wind pulses through the trees and over the roof. It creates a down-draft in the chimney and the smell of soot and stale smoke permeates the house.
The Lot is swollen and rages under the Castelmoron bridge, inundating the town beach.
The barrage, where EDF generates hydro-electricity, is releasing huge volumes of water.
Sluice gates upstream must be holding the deluge back, because the level has dropped dramatically outside our house. The boat is high and dry. Muddy banks and fallen trees are exposed. I reckon the Lot has fallen two feet, while downstream it has risen in a churning, frothing torrent.
 |
| boat is high and dry |
 |
| a detritus of mud and exposed branches |
 |
| the boat ramp in autumn |
 |
| a raging torrent encroaches ... |
 |
| the EDF barrage is releasing huge volumes |
 |
| where the river beach once was |
 |
| this was the Lot at Castelmoron last winter |
I was thinking about you and all the rain that's been falling these past few days. On the French TV News they show the Lot upriver from you and there is a lot (pun intended!) of water there! As Ken titled one of his posts, Que d'eau, que d'eau! Is your river house sufficiently up above a possible flooded area? Hope you're safe.
ReplyDeleteHi Charles Henry ... yes we are quite safe thank you. Our little section of the river, at Temple sur Lot, is obviously controlled, 'cause the water level has dropped quite dramatically, but risen alarmingly downstream from the barrage ... as the pics show.
DeleteHappy Australia Day, Tony!
ReplyDeletethanks cobber!
DeleteNeedless to say, Tony, I didn't have the slightest, faintest and most remote idea what cobber meant. But my mate, Mr. Google was kind enough to tell me that it was a colloquialism, synonym of mate, word that I learned, a while back, from the other Australian blog I told you about. In no time flat, I'll be speaking Australian, if only I can use what I learn properly!
Delete