Force of Nature

When I was young, people of my grandparents' generation would be reluctant to go away on summer vacation because of potential thunderstorms that could wreak havok on their garden or cause a power outage that would ruin the contents of their freezer. I always found those concerns a bit exaggerated and somewhat ridiculous. Old people problems, basically. Well, what with the weather getting crazier every year minute due to climate change, I have come not only to understand these concerns, but to catch myself painting similar, if not worse scenarios in my head. What if we get stuck on the motorway on the way to the seaside? What if we are literally swept off the road? While we were enjoying carefree days by the sea, my poor mum had to fight with water in the basement of my parents' house every day and even invested in a wet vacuum cleaner. The photo is from a thunderstorm in July, when Highflyer was about to leave for Vienna, and my parents' garden was covered in hailstones within minutes. We managed to cover the windscreen of his car with blankets, but the side doors have looked better. Nothing that can't be repaired or replaced, but scary shit, nature.