With the NRWF project down for days, our community is reminded of the pure, nature’s darkness of our night skies.
The stars are bright and the neighbourhood is silent.
(Transformer 2 of Niagara Region wind was being worked on while the shut down had been at the request of Hydro One for work on another transformer station in Hamilton.)
“I took pictures on my way home tonight and fought tears as I recall how much I loved my home and quiet remote community.
I quickly turned those tears into motivation; we will get our health, skies and communities restored.
Normally red flashing lights! But no power to the turbines so the aviation lights are dying and dead!”
“I wonder whether anyone is noticing changes in their health status now that the turbines have not been operational since early Monday and making the connection? What an opportunity to self assess the symptoms that are not present.
I now recognize that depression has been one of my symptoms. Today for the first time in months I have felt motivated. My frequent companion dizziness has decreased so much. I have not felt the achy head pressure and my concentration is back once more.
Two more days of reprieve.”
“The heavy blanket has been lifted. You know those blankets we wear at x-ray time to protect our thyroid etc? That’s how I feel I am each day – everything is a chore.
The haze – the dense cloud I have been living in is gone. The clarity present yesterday and today is remarkable.
I had a herbal tea on the deck at 10pm, wrapped in a blanket and just soaked in my natural environment. It was quiet, the sky was dark and a great reminder of what we fight so hard for. Glorious!”
“Delayed Perception. Now that is an interesting term. Have you ever driven in the evening at night and seen what appeared to be huge red taillights ahead of you? I wondered why the red taillights I was seeing were so large only to discover moments later that they were the red traffic lights at the next intersection. This should have been an automatic observation. I am having moments of delayed perception in other instances as well. I found myself making silly mistakes and then wondering why I had done that. I am struggling through the brain fog.
I have a frequent companion named Dizziness. Some days are worse than others. I now always hit the pause button before I take the first step from a rising position and I am especially careful in rising from a prone position. This dizziness I first began to experience last summer.
On day number 3 of the shut down of the project I noticed that my depression had lifted. I felt energetic and did some household chores which had been neglected for quite some time. I did not have the energy nor the motivation to do them before. I had a feeling of enthusiasm and normalcy that had become a stranger to me in the past months.
The brain fog has lifted and I am able to concentrate at the moment. The dizziness has abated and I do not have to hit the pause button before rising.
Some verbs I’ve used in the past tense knowing full well that all the symptoms will revisit me once again when the project becomes operational again.
It is my wish that relating my experiences will perhaps help someone else identify their symptoms if they are living amidst turbines but not making the connection. Symptoms will vary from person to person and the listing of health impacts is more comprehensive so please do the research if you suspect that your symptoms could be turbine related.”
“Darn it!!! It’s so quiet and the night sky is completely dark. I will enjoy it for one more night I guess.”
Mothers Against Wind Turbines Inc. 