Winter can be a frightful time at Eshaness lighthouse. Violent storms come in from the west and batter the solid three-foot walls of my lighthouse home. Charles and David A Stevenson in 1929 built the little house and its square tower to with stand the ocean's fury. The ocean side has thick wood shutters on all windows. When a storm is forecasted all shutters must be bolted and everything tied down or it will be gone. This year we lost an old television antenna which Tom Williamson, our caretaker, found in the front yard.

But the worst thing so far this year happened two weeks ago when a terrible thunderstorm arrived in the area. Lightening hit the pole that brings power to Eshaness and the tower lost its electricity for two days. Even if the electricity is off in the tower the light's beacon has batteries. No ships were endangered by this strike as the light kept revolving under battery power. The house was not affected and life went on as normal.

Not more than two days later lightening hit something in the area again. This time power to the house and the tower both went out. They got power back to the tower in a day but it took two days to get the power on to the house.

One of the Eshaness famous stories is a few years ago lightening stroke and damaged the tower. The stairs to the beacon room were broken, as were some of the ceramic tiles on the tower's walls. Only one thing in the tower was not affected and that was a vintage 1930 telephone. That ancient black phone was working immediately after the strike and still works today.

If you look at the picture I have included you will understand why lightening and Eshaness keep meeting like they do. The lighthouse sits at the highest point in the area and the tower is the tallest thing around. I suppose you are wondering if all this lightening activity scares me. The answer is you bet! Living in a lighthouse means keeping abreast of the weather and knowing what to do in all situations. The safest place is usually inside the little house because that is what it was built for.

Respecting the weather,

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