It was a clear fall day…lots of sunshine…lots of bright puffy clouds…and NO WIND. That was the day we first set about putting the cover on the 96-foot-long hoop skeleton the Farmer had constructed the week before. Two hours into the project–you never know how long these things’ll take–the weather took a turn and I found myself hanging on for dear life, knuckles red, fingers numb, and all my body weight prone to cover more area in an attempt to make my mass heavier; I was given the impossible task of ‘holding down the cover’ that we had tossed over the frame, but that was not completely stretched yet, and definately not securely anchored!
Nature can be a force to be reckoned with! Needless to say, the hoops did not get a good start with their covering. Before we finally called it quits on day one, the cover had a tear that doomed the skin forever–the flaw that led to its demise. Then the 70 mph winds of Thanksgiving ‘curled’ the roll bars like licorice, tattered the cover on the west side, and shredded it on the east side. The end-panel zippers on the north were blown-out–all three of them. (Wind damage is not a warranty issue…) We spent the rest of the winter watching the shredded plastic whip in the wind like a weather-vane, telling us the direction of the prevailing gale–and its intensity!
Now–the Spring, which officially began last Tuesday, the skeleton is clean with its perfect arches waiting for a day of NO WIND. That should be a challenge to predict, even the meteorologists have a time with that! Monday, as you all know, started out calm and warm and ended up BLOWING and GOING with winds in every which direction–for hours! That was not supposed to be until TUESDAY–doesn’t nature read the weather report!! Good news though, we didn’t start the big hoop’s project…its new skin is still safely in the shed. AND better news, the lone end-panel mounted for the little hoop weathered the winds and we were able to protect it. Yesterday the Farmer got the other end panel up, and today (God willing–cuz he and Nature have a strong connnection) the Farmer and the Son hope to get the skin on and anchored and shored up for the predictable winds that will come. You know, SPRING–in like a lion and out like a lamb…
Posted by Terry on March 28, 2012 at 8:27 pm
Although I knew about the first cover being destroyed by wind, I must say, I love the way you tell the story! You could publish a book!!!
Posted by Deloris on March 28, 2012 at 3:58 pm
Hope your new skin will with stand the winds that we have . Sorry for all your troubles. Deloris