A month after post-tropical storm Fiona passed through Toney River, N.S., Margaret and Raymond Murray still feel stuck in time.
“Now you got nothing,” Margaret Murray said, standing in the barn where the roof blew off. The couple in their 80s lost 3,000 bales of hay.
They’ve spent days cleaning up, but even cleaning is clouded by uncertainty.
“Got it in your head everyday, which is the way to go? Tear the barn down or fix what’s there,” Raymond Murray said.
They sold their cattle because they had no barn to keep them in this winter and needed the money to cover what they say insurance won’t.
A niece is helping to navigate through applications for funding but so far, no money has come their way.
At Pictou Lodge Beach Resort in Pictou, N.S., much of the damage remains.
“The whole month has been a blur. It’s been intense assessing all the damages, the insurance process, I mean it’s such a complex case,” said general manager Kate Surrett.
The lodge’s exact path in moving forward is still up in the air. They’re also chasing time.
“We’re looking at the best aspect, working with the contractors, building materials, everything that we have in this area of the province,” Surrett said. “We’re going to try to tear down the ones that we want to tear down before the season’s end. Before winter comes.”
Surrett said the resort will rebuild and plans to reopen in 2023.
At the Murray’s, thoughts turn to winter.
“I just wish that everything, everything will be back to normal again, which I know it never will be,” Margaret Murray said.
Without their cattle, they question how they’ll pass their time.
“You got to find your own amusement now,” Margaret Murray said.
