Here we are in November, 2017. A hard rain was coming down, the wind was howling, swirling through the valley. We were warm and snug in our little stucco farmhouse. Surfing the web, drinking coffee, planning and looking forward to our 2018 growing season. In fact, our farmhouse does such a nice job protecting us from the weather, including August's hot sun, we didn't realize the direction or ferocity of this November storm.
At the computer, I heard a "thunk" noise, but didn't get up to look outside. Doug happened to be coming from the kitchen with a fresh cup of coffee and looked out the living room picture window that looks out to our produce stand.
This picture is what that "thunk" sound was. A southeast gust of wind had smacked up under the overhang. It flipped our produce stand completely upside down on it's roof. Must have been more than a gust of wind! Our produce stand had been sitting in this location since 2010, it was built out of 2x6 construction, there was an attached deck with steps, flower pots sitting on each side of the deck, and a cooler sitting inside of it. Deep breath, and a sigh. Call the insurance company.
The stand was left upside down in the yard for a while, in order for the yard to dry out enough to drive on and for us to mourn, decide how/what would replace it. We tried several things including checking with tow truck companies for ideas, purchasing new straps to wrap around the stand, pulling on it with the tractor, and hearing loud cracking sounds while tugging on it, Doug was unable to roll it back to it's original position. Did I say, we (me and Doug) loved that produce stand! The only decision left was to take it apart. It was tough, not only because it was so well built, but that it was such a fun part of our farm.
So, we were left with no other choice but to replace the stand. The new stand will have more storage/produce space. Being surrounded by bright green pastures, and sitting in front of a big bright red (eventually) barn, our lemon twist yellow farm stand will definitely be noticed by passers-by. See next picture:
Don't you just love a happy ending? As soon as the ground dries out and the new gravel is brought in, we will be setting up our new yellow produce stand. Make it a great day!
