When nature takes back its rights... and the river its bed !
It happens that the garden-tropical paradise that surrounds the studio is suddenly transformed during the rainy season...
It's hard to imagine that the peaceful river that flows right next to it could swell several meters in a few hours under the incessant curtain of rain, and turn the whole plain into a lake.
Fortunately, tropical depressions and cyclones are announced in advance and I have always had time until now (sometimes a little in a rush I admit!) to put all my equipment up on the mezzanine (which is not more than 20cm higher than the edge of the roof).
The day of this photo, during the passage of cyclone LUCAS, the water was lapping just below, at 1m90 high...
I then generally spend long hours watching, crossing my fingers (and my toes too!) and praying for the rain to stop, for the flood to stabilize, for the workshop to be spared, hoping that no branch or trunk carried by the water breaks a window or smashes a wall, that no surrounding tree will disroot and collapse on the hut, that the Spirit of the River be lenient... once again... once again... once again...
Then, when the water finally goes down again, when the winds have stopped swirling, comes the time for a big cleaning : evacuating the red mud and the silt, the plant residues hanging from the floor to the ceiling, washing, airing, drying everything... .
Finally, reinstalling the workshop, sorting the equipment on the way, tidying up, rearranging, disturbing some lizards-guardians of the place who had taken up residence in the lockers, finding forgotten treasures, having lost or misplaced others...
In the joyful gratitude of finding the tools safe and sound, the space once again calm and bathed in a ray of sunshine... Breathe and give thanks...
Being aware of our chance and of our fragile balance...
As a metaphor for life and the experiences we go through... the same cycle...
There are years when the river stays pretty calm, and some years when, several times during the hurricane season (from December to March-April), the water happen to get as high as the roof of my little hut-studio, and where I then dream of a lighthouse-workshop that would be protected, very dry, very high...
Would you like to be informed of the latest news from the store, receive the workshop letter and exclusive offers ?
Comments