A very violent thunderstorm blew through our area tonight. The strength of the wind reminded me of what I experienced during the tornado that blew some of our trees down in June of 1996. Wind that powerful will turn even the bravest individual into a terrified, if not suddenly religious individual. Fortunately, we came through this storm with no damage. I breathed several sighs of relief as I walked the property and saw that no trees had fallen. It took a while for me to relax again. Once you've been through a tornado, that fear never really leaves you.Some of the chooks were outside during the worst of the storm, huddled beneath their favorite arborvitae. The smart ones ran into the coop for shelter. After the storm, the smart ones were nice and dry while the not-so-smart ones were soaked! I've heard the saying "madder than a wet hen" and I've always wondered if wet hens really are mad. After watching the chooks fuss over their wet feathers tonight, I'd have to say that they're not really mad per se, just a bit verklempt. After the heat we experienced today, I'm sure the rain felt nice and refreshing to them. They didn't run for cover until the rain became heavy.
Here's a satellite photo of the Twelve Acres. You can see the path the 1996 tornado took in the upper right hand corner. The windbreak was a solid swath of evergreen trees. Now there is that huge gap which my new trees will fill in. My mother stood on the front porch and watched it. It was about 300 yards away! Isn't she crazy?
Wow, you must have gotten some of that long line of storms that sheared to the north and east of us. Glad to know you are all ok, even if the not-so-smart have to be thrown in the dryer for an hour or two. :)
ReplyDeleteHa! Yeah, I think mom is crazy. :) Do you have fields on the 12 acres? Looks like a 3 or 4 acre home site with 9 or so planted in row crops?
Ron
Ron, there are more storms coming tonight but from the Doppler radar I'm seeing they don't look anything like what tore through here earlier today. Whew!
ReplyDeleteThe field is just a hair over 7 acres. The rest of the acreage is house, pond and lawn. The pond is roughly 3/4 an acre although it looks larger than that in the photo. My cousin who raises beef cattle rents the field for crops.
Yeah, a serious storm can sure remind one of just how small we all are when facing Mother Nature. Glad no more real serious ones are headed your way. One of these days, I better finish our storm shelter / root cellar. :)
ReplyDeleteThat looks like an awesome pond!
Ron
Ugh... glad everybody is o.k.!! I'll bet the not-so-smart ones will be right behind the smart ones to go inside when a storm hits again!! (They may be in front of them!! LOL)
ReplyDeleteThat is wild, your mom is a brave women! Glad you did not have any damage on this last storm. ~Kim
ReplyDeleteAmy, so glad you are okay. We hit 105 at my house today! Nice and dry here!
ReplyDeleteHey, remember your post about letting your kids run and play outdoors? I have a poem you might like at my http://Kathiespoettree.blogspot.com that you might like. It's called, "And Mom Said we Could!" Let me know if you like it!
Thanks ladies for your concern.
ReplyDeletePaula, I dunno. The not-so-smart ones got caught in a quick shower this morning...again!
Kim, see above comment about not-so-smart things! LOL
Kathie, You can keep the heat (it's a DRY heat) thank you! I honestly don't know how anyone can tolerate such temperatures! Mom lived in AZ for 4 years and carried a pot holder in her purse for opening her car door on hot days!