After the storm

Call me  strange but I have always loved a big howling storm; something about the thunder and lightning and sheets of  rain coming down so that you cannot see through; an experience that involves all the senses.  When I was a kid I always wanted to  be out in the rain but was always pulled back inside and cautioned to stay away from those windows.  Our home in PA had a big front porch so I liked to sit out there but if it lightninged Mom made me go inside.  I guess a howler is not so frightening from the inside of a secure home.

Well last night here we had a humdinger of a storm right on the  edge of tornadoes.  No I don't want or need to experience a tornado because sometimes I think I have  or am already living in the land of Oz like Dorothy when it blew her from Kansas. Where oh where are my ruby red slippers, I've already encountered flying monkeys.   But today the skies are bright blue and clear and all around town there are trucks pulling small trailers filled with limbs heading for the disposal where everything will be crunched into free mulch for those who want it.  Here is one man at it on Oak Street, taken through my SUV windshield.

We were very fortunate here as only limbs and leaves came down, like this one in the back yard, nothing very significant. We were protected and are thankful.   Oh one of my angels who normally sits on the back rail flew into the yard but this morning I picked her up, whole and ready to sit guard again, although she needs a good cleansing and a patch to her broken toenail;  come to think about it, the wind whipped right  past our back yard so she did her rightful duty if you can believe such  things.  Even our dinky plastic chairs stayed in place, odd because so many others had overturned things, broken, etc.  The oriole feeder was still in place and the black and orange are right back at eating jelly today. Just lots of clean up, not what we'd planned today but you know the old saying, we plan and God laughs. 

Just two blocks over, a friend was not so lucky as their front tree came down into their yard, still it could have been worse as it was in other parts of town. This  one did not hit their home nor their carport. 

 Right across the street their neighbors left tree limbs in the drive and went to work, it will wait.   

At the Shepardson's (Jerry's cousin & Kathleen,friend) another big old Oak will be gone; seems they keep getting hit by the storm. If I didn't know better I would say that someone in the Great Beyond is out to get them, because this is the  second storm where they have lost trees, limbs, major damage with close calls. 

On my way up town to capture some photos of Main Street and the clean up I swung into Milo and Kathleen's and that 'hood really got it.  Still fortunate though because it is in the back yard and hit no part of the house.   They will have to employ more  tree removal service again soon though.  Here's Kathleen among the limbs of a used to be grand oak.  

That street is going to have to be renamed from Oak Terraces.  All the 100 &  200 year old oak trees are being storm wreaked and coming down.  The birds will miss the trees and the residents will miss all the shade.  Fortunately even this approach to the front which got it in the previous storm had no damage to the home. But there is no entering their driveway now until the debris is cleared.   And two doors down from them   an old tree crashed onto part of the home and   destroyed the vehicle in the driveway. 

Below is the used to be grand old oak in their back yard that came  apart  in last night's storm. You saw part of the limbs where Kathleen was in their midst.

There were some kids out looking around this morning too and one little boy was so obliging to have his photo taken in the stump of this gorgeous hemlock that was uprooted on Main Street.  His friends were more shy but he was proud and full of giggles. 

All around town it's the same story today.  How can the sun shine so bright after so much darkness?  That's life exemplified.  All we can do is get back up the next day and start clearing out the debris.