Autumn arrived with a bang this year. Quite a few bangs, actually. Although this time of the year is when we expect thunderstorms, there seem to have been more than usual recently. Why should I expect something ‘normal’ in a year like 2020?

August 29th was the first big storm that sticks in our mind; this is probably because we’ve only just received and paid the eye-popping bill for the repair of the lightning-damaged inverter that keeps our solar-power electricity system going.

The latest storm a couple of nights ago appears to have affected our generator. It simply won’t start. This hulking (and noisy) beast usually kicks in automatically when the solar batteries are a little low in power – which happens when the sun hasn’t been on duty for a while or we use certain power-guzzling appliances.

Today we have sunshine, which means the solar panels are maxing out on sunbathing and our system can happily run without the generator – assuming modest use of power. But using the washing machine or the iron, for example, kicks off the generator however much sun is available.

Rugs at the Ready

Until the generator can be fixed, doing the laundry at home is off limits. Oh, and so are the air-conditioning units that do heating duty in the evenings at this time of year – when it’s not quite cold enough for a log fire (The Boss would disagree with that) but a little warmth is appreciated. It’s a cosy rug over the legs on the sofa for us for the foreseeable.

The big positive about all the rain we’ve had is that rural Mallorca has lost the veil of dust it’s been wearing over the dry months. Everything looks sparkling clean . . . except the contents of the laundry basket.

The stream at the bottom of our valley should be full of water by now, but I won’t have to resort to kneeling on its muddy banks to do the laundry. Thank heavens for gas-powered water heaters and a good-sized kitchen sink. Now, pass the Marigolds . . .

Jan Edwards Copyright 2020