I think I'm going to give up on Gardening.........

This fellow was madly reading/scribbling on the side porch

The ones that had to do the constant moving/hauling of equipment etc. taking a well earned break.....

Yep Bea I must agree we had wonderful front row seats. :) Looking kitty corner across the street I was amazed to see the crowd that had gathered to watch the proceedings.

This message was edited Jul 7, 2007 12:15 AM

Here you can see how hard some of the trees were hit by hail (and also how hot it was.......re cameraman's face)

And our garage has developed a rather creepy glow .......

I should also mention we've all been told to keep our cats in (they have at least 4 dogs in the show)...........this news hasn't gone over well with our cat Riley. He is sooooooooo frustrated over loosing his outdoor privileges that he's been REALLY beating up some of his fave toys. I'd post a pic but it's just a solid blur!

Can't sleep......inside the house is like a sauna now so I checked our current weather

35°C
Partly cloudy
Feels Like 40
Wind N 17km/h
Wind gusts 28km/h
Relative Humidity 32%
Dewpoint 16°C
Pressure 100.56 kPa
Visibility 24.0 km
Ceiling 30000 ft


And found that lovely red bar above the temps and it said:

Severe thunderstorm watch for:
Moose Jaw-Pense-Central Butte-Craik

CONDITIONS ARE FAVOURABLE FOR THE FORMATION OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF SASKATCHEWAN OVERNIGHT. THIS IS AN ALERT TO THE POTENTIAL DEVELOPMENT OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. MONITOR WEATHER CONDITIONS..LISTEN FOR UPDATED STATEMENTS. IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES TAKE IMMEDIATE SAFETY PRECAUTIONS.
SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE MOVING ACROSS THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF SASKATCHEWAN. THESE THUNDERSTORMS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO GIVE LARGE HAIL AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS. THE SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS CURRENTLY STRETCH OVER SOUTHERN SASKATCHEWAN FROM THE INTERNATIONAL BORDER NORTH OF REGINA TOWARD DAVIDSON AND WILL LIKELY PERSIST THROUGH MUCH OF THE NIGHT AS THEY MOVE EASTWARD. SOME ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE LIKELY OVERNIGHT.

PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST PUBLIC FORECASTS FOR FURTHER DETAILS.

Haven't heard about south of here yet but so far the white stuff hasn't returned to this location. :^)))

This message was edited Jul 7, 2007 9:16 AM

So did you dodge this one Pam? Sure hope you didn't get any more hail.

Great pictures. Thanks for letting us in on the action. Did they change the lead actress?

give up on gardening??? we all know you too well for that Pam. In a few days you'll be looking at this as an opportunity to get a whole bunch of new plants you didn't have room for previously. Prairie folk are hardy creatures.

I heard the Wealthy Barber on CBC the other day saying that if you wake up living in canada and with your health, there really is very little else that is worth complaining about - though we (and particularly you right now) get to do it anyway. He's right you know.

What a crazy thread to read from start to finish!

Thats scary! Then the threat of having to relive it? I hope it missed you. And I hope every thing works out ok. It is really cool to see all the movie stuff going on. You must have felt honoured to have them choose your house.

Hope you evaded any off the threatening weather.

With any luck that tree will grow some new leaves and give you folks some shade again.

What in the world was the director doing on the roof in that tent. Seems like a very odd place to be especially on such a hot day.

Bea

Ran to Alberta yesterday......DD has a week and a half off work so, for some reason or other, she wanted to come home. ;) And I don't think seeing Mom and Dad or our yard was the main reason.

Yep definite dodge Brenda and the temps have dropped!!! :^))) Now we are back to a more La Nina summer. They did have Katherine O'Hara lined up but I wasn't told anything about the change.

Yer right Lynn :) I did pick up more plants (we stopped at a greenhouse in Medicine Hat). Here the greenhouses are pretty empty but Medicine Hat's had a 40% off sale and there I spotted a double soft pink Mandevilla. Ü

Momo I stayed awake long enough to see a change on the Doppler radar and then I crashed. I did go up stairs to tell DH that it could come again and would he help move plants? (some were under the eaves of the garage and weren't destroyed the first time round........plus I had broke down and planted the plants Dad had dropped off. I have a huge pot in the garden now that's a hospital to a whole bunch of really sickly looking plants.

Andy that's about what life is like around here (re crazy thread). ;S

Bea they were shooting inside the bedroom through the windows......gives them a wider range of angles if that crew and their equipment isn't in the room.

They have talked about using the inside of our house next summer.... will be thinking on that one (and really cleaning this winter).

Pam, no one can say you lead a dull life!

Sorry for your plant loss but you're all safe and that's the main thing.

Joan

Holy Cow Girl...you do live an exciting life...So far in Drum we have mamaged to escape all hail storms but there was a couple that scared the pants off of me. ( Had to push the dogs over unde the bed.) Sorry to see your plants get hit hard like that. How exciting to have a film done in your own back yard. Please take care.

That's for sure Joan (re dull life....sometimes would rather we did though). Sure glad the last round of storms left everyone relatively ok......did hear that some in the Saskatoon area lost part of their roofs. Compared to other locations we are doing very well (I would love to see just one summer without hail damage though).

We were close to your location kinnika and while there was some hail damage there (bruising on plants) it did look that area of Alberta was blessed (so far) this year (I will never forget what happened to Edmonton then Calgary a couple of years ago: http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/443981/ ). re the film it's much less stressfull now......they are doing more shooting across the street and in front of our garage. Prior to this point they were using our backyard as a rest point/storage area/filming location/etc. and I'm so happy I can now wander out there to water/replant/tidy tattered plants etc. without someone sneaking up behind me (or refusing me entry)/worrying about whether our dog is loose (he's become great friends with the crew .... with one or two exceptions) becuase they left a door or gate open.

I think the shooting in the house would be less stressful ..... you are shipped off to a nice hotel and are able to have a holiday (that would of course depend on the quality of the film company you are dealing with). I'll check with the neighbors after all the dust has settled. Their whole house was painted, inside and out......now I'm curious to see whether they will have the film company change the colour scheme (or not).

*************************

We are back under severe weather watch again (I heard front staff moaning loudly when they looked out the windows)

Watches
Moose Jaw - Pense - Central Butte - Craik
4:25 PM CST Monday 9 July 2007
Severe thunderstorm watch for
Moose Jaw - Pense - Central Butte - Craik continued

Severe thunderstorms possible this afternoon.

This is an alert to the potential development of severe thunderstorms with large hail and damaging winds.

Monitor weather conditions..Listen for updated statements. If threatening weather approaches take immediate safety precautions.



An unstable airmass combined with day time heating has begun to produce thunderstorms in the area. Some of these have the potential to become severe with large hail and heavy downpours the main threat.


My remaining plants are going to live inside the porch for the rest of the summer (thankfully DH is home and is currently hauling them inside).


This message was edited Jul 9, 2007 4:56 PM

Here's the Mandevilla beauty that is currently living in my front porch: http://www.monrovia.com/PlantInf.nsf/709359cd399269ec8825684d0078b8fd/cfa0d895f46e8cd4882569590060e69b!OpenDocument

Since the weather was miserable today (rain) they spent the day filming inside. Here's how they make it look nice and sunny outside.........

and their new coffee location. The pics don't make it look like there are many people but when the camera is rolling I'm sure there are around 50 or more peeps on their crew (actually found a list and they can have up to 75 that they have to prepare lunches for). The house next to the one pictured above serves as their dressing area (and supplies them with a couple of washrooms).

This message was edited Jul 10, 2007 12:00 AM

Oh my You just can't win with those weather warnings. Have my fingers crossed for you. I bet you would like some help moving the plants but it is just to far away:) How about making a batch of cookies and inviting the crew to try some, just one catch they must bring a plant with them. Sure would get them in the porch in short order hehe.


Say I wished I could have gone shopping with you in Medicine Hat. I grew up there and love to go back for visits but it is so far away from the Island so I don't get there as often as I would like to. Lucky you. More distractions while you are waiting for things to regrow... way to go. Before you know it you will have the beds all filled up again.

Those lights are really neat. I bet you could grow lots of things with a couple lights like that:)


Bea

I'd love that Bea re lights but I'm thinking the power bill would be outta sight! I'm so glad they supply all their own power.

Tempting re plants but these folks are really watching their schedule. I'm just about to go to work so here's today's pics...we have to be discreet when taking the actors pics.


We were specifically asked to not do any trimming of trees when they originally talked to us. The scientist is supposed to be very occupied with her job and so her yard is somewhat neglected (wasn't supposed to be wiped out though ;).



This message was edited Jul 10, 2007 1:31 PM

so glad I don't have to haul this stuff around

different peek.....

and more stuff

First time we've seen them in their chairs.......

another one

last one

Pam, I'm sorry to hear about all your plants being destroyed. But what a story you have here to tell!! Sooooo cool that you get to part of a movie!!
:) Donna

Thanks Donna. I must admit it's amazing to watch but will be happy when it's over too. After awhile you feel like a prisoner in your own home (access to the backyard and side yards is pretty limited when they have the cameras facing this direction). It sure will be interesting to see "Finn on the Fly" when it is released (if it still has that name).

Garage hasn't changed much but now we see that there is a human sized cage in there.........

another view

This picture is what I'll remember most of this experience........



because no matter where one looked a piece of equipment wasn't too far away (this one was taken in our neighbour's yard)

Something awful (not reality ;) must have happened in our garage this morning because smoke is pouring out of it (I didn't catch that though)




Noticed that a police car was brought in

little further back

Activity and shooting is at an all time high (today is supposed to be the last day in our neighbourhood)

director's tent (our lawn is going to need a really, really good soaking after this)

snuck up on one of them for a change

caught some of the actors (usually someone is standing in front of Ana)

Semi's are a part of the neighbourhood decor lately

The one that's holding our garage contents (and babysitting our little trailer)