Brother blames it all on his rain dancing skills... or lack thereof.
Yesterday's thunderstorm caused our garden to flood, with water seeping in through the crack at the bottom of the back door. There were horrid noises in the night... distant woomps and crash-bangs only hinting at the grim possibilities.
We awoke to find that part of our parapet wall had crashed down (narrowly missing the car) and that sheets have been blown off the roof, which was dripping water into the house. Happily the water had drained away, leaving only muddy floors to be cleaned.
While we gloomily surveyed the wrecked garden (the wall had fallen right on top of Mum's prized red palms and gerberra plants) it started to rain again. And the water started rising. First seeping in through the back door, the water in the front garden also rose to a level that it was coming in. Then it started coming in from the french windows from either-side of the house. Meaning that we were being flooded from all 4 corners. Within half an hour the house was over a foot deep in muddy water and we had all retreated upstairs.
We awoke to find that part of our parapet wall had crashed down (narrowly missing the car) and that sheets have been blown off the roof, which was dripping water into the house. Happily the water had drained away, leaving only muddy floors to be cleaned.
While we gloomily surveyed the wrecked garden (the wall had fallen right on top of Mum's prized red palms and gerberra plants) it started to rain again. And the water started rising. First seeping in through the back door, the water in the front garden also rose to a level that it was coming in. Then it started coming in from the french windows from either-side of the house. Meaning that we were being flooded from all 4 corners. Within half an hour the house was over a foot deep in muddy water and we had all retreated upstairs.
Peering out of the windows, there were snakes swimming about the water!!
Well, they turned out to be eels. From the Diyawanna oya.
I still wasn't risking going down there.
So, we are cloistered upstairts... ignoring the drip drip from one point in the roof and the not-so-remote possibility of having it fall down on our heads.
The only consolation I have is that ironically enough, the internet still works!
The only consolation I have is that ironically enough, the internet still works!
11 comments:
Wow. Eels! :O
Sorry to hear about the wall Angel. Hope the water recedes soon!
Ewwwww! Eels! :| Stay indoors! :) Sorry to hear about your home. Hope the rain recedes soon!
Look at that huge bugger at 25secs! I would have caught 1 and tanked him :D
Sorry about everything thats happening. Its the bad before the good. So don't worry. Next week will be epic! :D
jesus christ look at the size of those things! I heard there was a crocodile in a flooded field in ratmalana?! sorry to hear about your house :(
Egad!!! Those be big Eels!!!!
The rain was crazy alright. Colombo turned into Venice for a day. Sorry to hear about your house and the wall. Hope things are taking a turn for the better now.
Hugs.
Thanks everyone for the kind thoughts and offers to help. Ahmed, I too hope that the next weeks will be epic...
Await next post!!
I hope the eels make it back to the Diyawanna oya when the water recedes without getting trapped on land and dying a horrible death! May the blessings of the tripple gem be upon you little creatures!
Catch and tank one of them, Rosetintedview? How horrible for the eels. Tanks, zoos, cages... all of these are life imprisonments for animals who've done nothing wrong. Because humans are selfish, and only think of their fleeting pleasures. Is taking them away from their families, packs and natural living environment, depriving them of their natural way of life worth our being able to look at them in our home or a zoo? It's very cruel. I hope no one actually catches them and keeps them, like you suggest, poor things. If there was a tsunami, a flood, earthquake, whatever, and your family scattered, do you want someone (or a higher being like an alien) to catch your father/mother/brother/sister/wife/husband/child and put them in a cage and keep them never to be found again, and for them to live out the rest of their life in misery and imprisonment. May humans learn and practice more compassion.
Humans do unto each other what we do unto animals. Look at any atrocity humans have done unto one another and you will see they did it to animals first. Once you take that step of killing, having killed on your behalf, raping, torturing, caging, trafficking, using for entertainment, maiming, hurting, experimenting on, torturing in labs of animals, something in the deep recesses of our psyche changes, and it's a natural progression to doing it to humans from there. Indeed all of these things have been done to humans and are being done to humans, some like war killings more openly than others like secretly using a disadvantaged race, community or nation for lab tests and cruel medical experiments. Laws and religions try to prevent us doing these things to each other, but we always find ways. It's like once we go there with animals, a switch in us gets flipped. We don't think it has, but our psyche has changed. Look at any serial killer or rapist, you will find that they started by torturing and killing animals first. Look at any instance of holocaust and slavery in history. Well, we holocaust animals for our food and in the name of gods as sacrifices, and enslave animals in the hundreds of billions a year, don't we? Is there any difference in how humans were killed in any holocaust and how we do it in slaughterhouses every day? Just as with animals, with humans too, we either do it ourselves, or turn a blind eye while it's happening and reap the rewards. If we were kind and compassionate to animals we would naturally be kinder to fellow human beings.
Heh, heh Angel we all do.
Hello Angel,
Sorry to hear about the all the destruction rain has brought to you.
The big one you've captured on the video is almost certainly a Long-finned Eel Anguilla nebulosa. Its precise Sinhala name is Pol mal Aandha.
The largest documented specimen of this is 121cm, weighing slightly over 7 kg. The big one you have captured appears to be very close to that! I have never seen such a huge specimen.
What interesting natural history you have in your garden!!
Gallicissa : thanks for visiting and naming the very large eel... I'm just releived it limited itself to the garden, unlike a whole load of small fishies, frogs and other creepy crawlies that came into the house!
Post a Comment