Landfall - Remembering Hurricane Fiona

LANDFALL

Remembering Hurricane Fiona

ACollaborativeArtsProjectledbyPatriciaMacAulay

September2023

DEDICATED To Tanya, who helped me prepare for the storm

Lesley, Tyler, Kyle, and Rosslyn who helped me recover and John, who sparked this project.

THANK YOU

About the Artist

PatriciaMacAulayisanartistandtherapistwholivesandworksinNew Glasgow,PrinceEdwardIsland.

ShereceivedaMastersofArtandSocialPracticefromtheUniversityofthe HighlandsandIslandsin2020.

Thisisherfirstreal-lifeparticipatoryartsproject.

About the Project

Lastyear,duringthenightofSeptember23rdand24th,HurricaneFiona madelandfallonPEI.Irememberhunkeringdowninmytinycottage, listeningforanycrackingorsplinteringfromthelargelindentreethat standsguardbehindit.

Thewindsubsidedbymorning,andweIslandersemergedtoseeournew surroundings.Myroofwasstillintact,buteverythingelsewasaskew.We sawdownedpowerlines,fallentrees,erodedshorelines,brokenpieces, andstrangebitsofdebriseverywhere.

Afterworkingasanarts-basedtraumacounsellorformanyyears,I rememberthinking,howwillweeverfeelsafeagain?

Forme,answersalwaysarrivethroughart.Throughthelong,quietdays thatfollowed,Ihadtimetoreflectonmymainimpression:Thelandissolid. Everythingelseisephemeral.

Ifoundtheflimsiestartmaterialpossible–light,fluffywool–andspentmy dayscreatingartpiecescelebratingtheland.

Thatledtoanon-lineartshowcalled''TheLandILove."Youcanviewthe showonmywebsite.

Artmakinggroundedmeandhelpedmemovepastmyanxietyandfear. Afterareasonableperiodofadjustment,Ifeltsafeinmyhomeagain.

Traumaresearchtellsusthattheanniversariesofdistressingeventscan bringbackrelatedemotions.Asweapproachtheone-yearmarkofFiona's landfall,IwanttosupportmyfellowIslandersandembracethememoryof thatseminalevent.

Avoidingpainfulfeelingsonlymakesthingsmoredifficult.Ifweapproach oursharedmemoriesopenlyandgently,wecanweatherthisanniversary.

ThatiswhyIapproachedover600Islandersandinvitedthemtorecallwhen theyfirstemergedfromtheirshelterandencounteredourpost-hurricane landscape,describingwhattheysawandhowtheyfelt.

Twenty-fourpeoplefromallcornersoftheIslandresponded,andyouwill readtheirfirst-handdescriptionshere,lightlyeditedforthesakeofclarity andprivacy.Iamhopingthattheirwordswillsparkrecollectionsofyour ownandyouwillreachouttoothersforhealingconversations.

Traumaresearchtellsusthatthememoriesofhighstressexperiencesare storeddifferentlythanourmemoriesofday-to-dayliving.Wetendtorecall sucheventsthroughaseriesofimagesthatareinterlacedwithphysical sensations.

Often,theserecollectionslieoutsideourconsciousawareness,butthey maystronglyaffectourbehaviours.Forexample,afterFiona,youmay noticeincreasedrestlessnesswhenyouseefallentrees,smellrain,orfeel thewindpickup.

Ourbodieswerebuilttorecallourperilousexperiences,sowearereadyfor thenextone.(Potentiallylife-savingbutalsobothersome!)Fortunately, though,ifweareawareofwhatishappeningwithinourselves,wecanhelp ourselvesandothers.

Eachpersonwhorespondedtomycallpaintedapicturewiththeirwords. Theirimagerysparkedmyimaginationandinspiredmetocreateadditional picturesofthepost-Fionaexperience.

Ihopeourcollaborationwillencourageyoutoshareyourexperiencewith othersandthatyoutakethetimetonoticeanddescribeyourrelated feelings.Weknowthataccuratelynamingourfeelingsandhavingthese feelingsheard,acknowledged,andunderstoodhelpstobuildourstrength andresilience.

“For many artists, beauty is the voice out of the whirlwind.”

-RobertAdams-

Before I even went outside, all I saw from my windows was green, everywhere green. It looked like a tornado had made a tossed salad. Heading outside, I was relieved to see that my two big lindens were still standing, albeit wounded. Power lines snaked through thick branches and brush. Then I saw her - my beautiful flowering crab tree. And then my plum tree and then our roof and pieces of our chimney. I felt oddly exhilarated as I realized the power of nature. I felt dread, feeling that this could be the first of many more disasters to come. I felt grateful for our house and the safety of my village. I felt worried and anxious for wildlife, neighbours, and farm friends.

-Michelle-

I stayed at my friend’s place during Fiona. We awoke to trees down in her yard, as well as many trees down in the woods that encircle her house. We had limited contact with outside other than through a portable, wind-up radio that shared news of the widespread damage. I returned to Charlottetown a few days later and saw that trees blocked every street north of Euston, with huge trees that landed on a very cute historical house. We heard the sound of chain saws everywhere throughout the next weeks as we slowly regained electricity. The street below mine was impassable, with trees down and wires everywhere – big, beautiful trees that were matriarchs in their own way but toppled by Fiona. It took lots of people many hours to restore passage to those hard-hit trees. It felt overwhelmingly sad to all my tree-loving friends who find solace in trees and appreciate their gifts. The trees, after all, document our years one ring at a time and welcome all kinds of birds and multiple forms of flora and fauna.

-Leo-

Impassable

When I stepped out of my front door, I saw the crown of my neighbour’s tree laying over the power lines on the ground. The tree had fallen across the street. I felt awe at the power of the wind that had uprooted this huge tree and slammed it into the ground, taking several power poles with it. I felt grateful that the tree wasn’t a few feet taller, as we had spent the night in the living room, under the window, just a couple of feet from the treetop. It would be too much to say that I felt connected or a sense of community in the moment. It was more like my mostly happy little bubble of aloneness had popped.

-Shannon-

Initially, as I walked around the property closest to the house, I saw a downed fence and a greenhouse with scattered pieces. What used to be a grove of trees now had an opening with three trees down and another one split in half. A tree close to the lane was down and had taken a power line with it. Further exploration on our property led to the discovery of more downed and split trees. A neighbourhood stroll revealed much more damage, including a cottage that was completely lifted and moved several hundred yards by the wind and the storm surge. My first feelings were shock and sorrow that the destruction was real and present. Feelings of gratitude and resignation followed, with the realization that there was no damage to our home, and no one had been injured. I felt resigned to the facts of the situation. It was time to adjust and take things an hour at a time. The eleven days without power, which inconvenient and, at times, frustrating, led to more feelings of gratitude that many of us have so many privileges in this part of the world.

-Sharon-

I dragged a mattress into my office on the lower level of our split-level house. My first view when I woke up was the east side of the house that was covered by trees. I could see the sky and some broken, wildly weaving branches. My first thought was that it looked like Mordor from “Lord of the Rings.” In the middle of the night, before everyone lost cell service, FaceBook was on fire. So many people awake and chatting at 3:00 a.m. I felt a sense of community. Later in the day, when cell service was down, I felt the opposite. Alone and disconnected. Worried about my mother weathering the storm at the cottage on the north shore. Sending and receiving random messages. Nothing consistent. It was an incredibly scary event. I was worried that people would die, that people would be stupid and go in the storm, risking their lives and the lives of others. I was worried about our fishing boat and if we had made a terrible mistake by leaving it in the water. I wasn’t worried for our safety anymore. But, through the night, I wasn’t sure the windows would hold.

- Sara -

I was at my parents’ place for three days, including the day the storm hit. I am grateful for that, but I have not yet fully recovered. There was a tangle of trees and power lines trapping us all inside. My neighbours let me know that, although my house was still standing, the sheds were gone. I felt like my prayers had been answered when I got home! My garden of “weeds” made ‘er. Even the plant that was hanging in one of the demolished sheds was located – halfway to my neighbours’ house – but intact. I smoked it a couple of weeks ago.

-Shannon-

I woke around 3:00 a.m. with a wet pillow and my partner nudging me, saying, "I need help." I looked up to see rain pouring in from the ceiling. I got up and grabbed every pot, pail, bowl, and towel to catch the water flowing through the house to the ground floor. I sat on the couch, wrapped in blankets, listening to the winds swirl around the house. Daylight revealed the lilac tree out front split apart, shingles littering the lawn and street, the back fence splintered under big maple tree limbs, the side fence down. No power, no internet, no coffee! I felt a calmness. I felt amazement at the force of nature. I felt concern for family and friends, not yet knowing how they made out. I felt that there was much to do and that I'd handle it.

-

Sandy-

When the wind subsided, I ventured outside and looked around. For the first time in twenty years, I saw my neighbour's house from my deck. Every tree was uprooted. I stood in total shock. Fear and disbelief followed. . . felt like I was in a bad movie.

- Lynda-

The morning after Fiona, I felt numb from getting no sleep the night before while listening to the constant howl of winds and the stream of pouring rain for the entire night. With the vibrations caused by the extreme winds, I feared my little cottage was going to either implode or be swept out to sea. This went on all night! In the morning, I felt so grateful to have survived that awful night and to know that we still had a cottage with its roof and windows intact! While looking out to sea, for the first time ever, I saw the surf splashing against our very steep cliff, causing a sea spray like I had never seen. There was debris blowing around our yard, but we were fortunate. The damage was all cosmetic. We were alive, and our cottage was intact. The whole thing was surreal. I was so incredibly grateful to have survived that horrible night, and I felt so lucky that our cottage was still standing. We were later comforted by the kindness of the community when we discovered the wonderful warming stations where residents gathered for support in the days following that horrible storm when there was no power. The downed trees that I still see all over the Island almost a full year later are a reminder of the night I will never forget.

-Debbie-

SeaSpray

P.MacAulay,2023

Hurricane Dorian scared the ever-loving crap out of me. I thought that the whole west end of my cottage was going to implode! That didn’t happen but made me scared enough to get my place super reinforced! We had lots of forewarning about Hurricane Fiona, so everything was moved, tied down, or secured. The Cape is twenty metres from my cottage and has a ten metre solid rock base. Not much has changed in the past thirty years.

AND THEN FIONA ARRIVED! WAVES CRASHED OVER THE CAPE!

It was quite awesome, but we were snug and secure in our cottage. Power was out for twelve days, but we had a wood stove, we were able to get water at the wharf, and we had enough food on hand. We were safe and secure. So many other people lost trees, houses, property, and peace of mind, but I was reassured that our location is pretty secure. I felt very thankful for a well-built house and a solid foundation.

-Beverley-

I saw raging waves, covering bridges and displacing cottages. Devastated woodlands, uprooted trees. I felt amazed by the devastation, in awe of the power of nature, and saddened for those who were experiencing the trauma of such power.

-Nancy-

I feel such grief over the loss of our dunes and trees. It makes me afraid of when the next one comes.

-Susan-

We couldn’t see out our windows which were totally covered with debris from Fiona! It was unbelievable, and I felt concerned and overwhelmed. I also felt worried about how other people were doing. I prayed that they were safe. I tried to breathe and center myself.

-Lisa-

Fiona certainly was a difficult time. My spouse works for the electric utility, so he was gone for days at a time. I was at home with two teenage children, but more worried about my oldest daughter who lives alone and uses a wheelchair. My first thought was to go get her and bring her home with us. We are making sure to be more prepared for future events.

I saw destruction, and I felt intrigued!

-SarahJane-

I have two very distinct memories of Fiona. I remember looking out the small windows to the side of my front door, peering into the darkness and seeing the large thirty-foot maple trees by the road doubled over with the wind. I remember wishing that I hadn’t looked outside at all. I also remember that, once daylight arrived, I looked out the same windows to see leaves and limbs surrounding my car. I recall feeling a combination of disbelief and relief at the same time. It was a challenge to process that we had been hit by a hurricane. The relief came when we went outside to survey the damage and saw that it was minimal. We thought we might have lost the brick chimney off the house, but it was still there. My next distinct memory is driving to my aunt’s house and, once again, feeling a profound sense of disbelief at the extent of the damage and the sheer number of trees and power lines that were down. The fact that there was no loss of life here on the Island is pretty incredible, considering the impact of the storm.

-Lesley-

I saw two groups of strangers, standing and posing on the sidewalk 100 feet away from my house. They were taking selfies in front of all the downed tree branches blocking our yard, driveway, walkway, and steps to the door where I was standing, looking outwards. I felt like I was photobombing their storm pics!! After two weeks without power, I felt weak and untethered. -Lisa-

I knew in the middle of the night that it wasn’t going to be good. As I awoke, I had that feeling of the unknown as to what I would see. While my son and I went to get the line truck, we were in AH mode. There were no birds singing and no traffic noises from the highway – very eerie, to say the least. Nobody was driving on the road, there was no power, and nothing was open. As we drove on, we started to see the damage, and it was bad. I have worked storms in the U.S., and some of the sights we saw that morning were just as bad or, in some cases where the power lines were non-existent because they were completely covered in trees, worse than I had ever seen. It felt surreal to have similar damage here at home. We had a job to do. We had to clean up and get the power on. We went to the north shore and saw that it was a disaster there. We worked almost three 16-hour long days to cut the trees and find the line. Then, we started framing poles and setting them up. At times, our courage was low, and then someone would drop off coffee or treats for us and thank us for our work. We worked day after day, and it took about eight days before the power was restored there. We worked 21 days straight before we took a break. Global warming is now a real threat to us, and people need to be ready.

-John-

NoBirdsSinging

P.MacAulay,2023

It felt very quiet afterwards. We had lots of trees turned over with roots out and up. I saw many people lined up for gas at certain service stations. We had to travel quite a distance and paid cash as the till was not working. I saw lots of people in the community helping out others with limb and tree removal. So much helping and caring for others. I felt grateful that we personally only lost power for one and half days and we had a generator that kept our freezer running. There were others throughout the Island who had it much worse and for longer.

-Wendy-

Quiet

P.MacAulay,2023

When I emerged in the morning, I saw chaos and destruction. I felt relief and sadness and was in awe of the power of mother nature.

-Kellie-

I first saw the carnage of fallen trees but, funny enough, squirrels were running all over the backyard. I felt like I had experienced a death, seeing the old trees along the driveway. I have always loved a tree-lined driveway.

-Ann-

It looked like mass destruction. Hundreds of trees on our property were down. Some had fallen onto our buildings. It looked like a bomb had gone off. Our landscape was irreparably destroyed. Everything was plastered with green matter that looked like it had been put through a blender. It was like a movie scene, surreal... it was shocking and brutal. I felt an immediate sense of deep loss for myself and my Island. I felt totally defeated and hopeless. I knew we faced a huge, insurmountable job which we would be tackling for years, but we could only ever patch, never repair or replace. I feared for what will come next.

-Jo-

I saw an almost unbelievable level of devastation. Centuries old trees were toppled, and some had taken power lines with them during their fall. I saw evidence of very significant damage to the building I live in and other neighbouring buildings, with building debris on the ground and blowing in the wind. That wind was still so strong that it was not safe to go outside to assess the extent of the damage until mid-morning. I felt shocked by the extent of the devastation, especially to the trees that had been standing since before Confederation. I felt awestruck by the power of nature. Nature can be profoundly good and terribly evil. I felt afraid of the dangers associated with the destruction caused by Fiona, and I was concerned about the possibility of similar events occurring at more frequent intervals in the future.

-Ernie-

One of my most powerful recollections from Fiona was seeing the Big Dipper directly out of my front window. It was huge, and not something I had ever seen due to light pollution from the streetlights outside my home. The beauty of this sight was strange to experience at a time when life felt far from beautiful.

-Nia-

You might also appreciate:

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Fiona - Confederation Centre of the Arts

Fiona – Prince Edward Island Accounts of Canada’s Biggest

Storm

Fiona - Pownal Street Press

Naming Your Feelings

Dr.GloriaWilcoxdevelopedatoolcalleda''feelingswheel''toserveasa guideandastartingpointtohelpusidentify anddescribeourfeelings accurately.

Wool Painting

Paintingwithwoolisprobablythemostwelcomingandforgivingartmakingapproachimaginable. Perhapsmyworkcaninspireyours.Hereare sometutorialstohelpgetyoustarted:

Painting With Wool?! – YouTube

Painting with Wool - Wool Painting - Felted Poppy Picture - Art – YouTube

Painting with WOOL?! // Ultra Satisfying Needle Felting – YouTube

NEEDLE FELTING FOR BEGINNERS (Wool Painting) – YouTube

IfoundthesuppliesIneededhere:

BelfastMiniMills

BelfastMiniMills

Fibrecraft

Felting and Fibre Art Supplies - Felt, Wool, Needles and More! Fibrecraft

Thank You

DeepappreciationtoallwhorespondedtomycalltoremembertheaftereffectsofFiona.Iamsogladthatyouallmadeitthroughthestormand werewillingtoshareyourexperiencewithothers.

And,bigthankstoInnovationPEI’sArtistGrantProgramthatprovided financialsupportforthisproject.

Allartworksproducedforthisprojectareavailableforsale.

Pleaseseemywebsiteforpurchasingdetails.

www.sweetpeacottage.ca