Stormy Morning

Iwas going to put up some pictures of the electrical work they've started (digging a trench, temporary box, etc.), but we were interrupted by a storm this morning. It wasn't raining when I took Jeffy to Kindergarten camp at school @ 8:30, and at, oh, 8:31(!) the rain was coming down in sheets, sideways. Jake and I managed to get to Janna's house in town, but the power was already out and winds were up over 60 mph. They called a tornado warning at 9:00, but I'm not sure if it was an actual tornado or just straightline winds. Not that it makes much difference, there isn't a house in town without trees down. So many roads are blocked by trees that we were "stuck" in town until I managed to backtrack my way out to school again (no trees out there). Janna had a tree snap right in half in her backyard, and more branches land on power lines in front. That seems to be the story all over town. The good news is, it's only trees, not houses!

These pictures are from our front yard. We only lost one tree, snapped off about 8 feet up, and one large branch that seems hung up on another tree. We're so glad that's all! Our "split" tree, the one that was hit by lightning twenty years ago, is still standing, go figure. It was almost split in two during that tornado that knocked over the original garage sometime in the '80s. Grampa Al, resourceful guy that he was, tied it together with a chain. The chain is still there, and the two halves of the tree actually healed together. A couple of years ago we thought that when the wind blew just right, you could see through the crack in the tree, and we were planning on taking it down. Well, you can definitely see through it now! I get a kick out of the fact that it's Still Standing instead of Laying Across The Garage -- thank you, Grampa!
















Closeup of the split tree.


















I call this one "Chairs, Trash Cans, and Wet Dog".

The silo is still standing, thank goodness!