Last night, while Dan and the kids were outside digging holes and planting the last two fruit trees that we had ordered (they came on Tues. during the last rain, just like always, if we ever need rain, all I have to do is order trees!), I was inside trying to prepare for this morning. I knew it would be a stretch to get all the kids up and ready in time.
The best laid plans of men (and women) often go awry. During the night it started to thunderstorm and of course, Joseph got scared. It seemed to settle down and we went back to sleep. Then, we awoke with a jolt at about 5:00am. I have never heard such wild, ferocious wind. It sounded like it was going to tear the house apart. Right away, we realized the electricity was out and almost immediately the girls started crying because it was dark. I rushed in there and turned on the battery candle and they calmed down. The wind seemed to be getting worse and worse, and all I could think of was we are going to have a tornado! We rushed everyone downstairs, then I went back up and grabbed all the flashlights, then Dan went back up and found the radio and our cellphones. It was scary!
We snuggled on the couches and listened to the Storm Watch on the radio and just waited to see what would happen. It raged for a while and there was lots of noises around the house, banging and slamming noises. Finally after a while, it eased up and the kids dozed off. Then, about 6:30, the electricity came back on, and I realized that I was already running behind.
I hustled and I bustled and I managed to get all the kids in the car, and we set off for the dentist's office. You know that we live on dirt roads, right? Well today it was all mud and water. On our drive I saw new ponds in the landscape, water on the road, big trees knocked down, and on one section of the road the power lines were down, as in poles lying in the ditch. Don't worry, I didn't drive anywhere unsafe. Although, we now are driving a brown mini-van (original color white!).
We got back home (by the way, they did great at the dentist, much better than I had hoped!) and I got the kids all fed and in their beds for an early nap. I went outside to a bright, sunny beautiful day. This little guy was just singing his heart out:
Not a cloud in the sky!
This is what greeted me on the deck:
See the storm door? I don't have it propped open. It must have been open a little last night, because the strong winds just bent it all out of whack. That was the cause of a lot of the banging we heard during the storm. When we first looked out this morning the swing set was blown over, but not damaged, thank goodness.Here is the puddle laden garden that Dan hasn't been able to plant because it has just been too wet! Now he'll have to wait even longer. He was hoping to do that this weekend, but not anymore. We got almost 2 inches of rain in that short time this morning. See the little baby trees in the back? They are part of our new little orchard (11 trees altogether). They survived just fine.
Puddles, puddles everywhere. It was much worse when I left this morning, though.
I don't know how well you can see this, but this is our beautiful peony bush. I should say was. It doesn't look so good now. The budding flowers are bowed down almost to the ground. I hope it can recover. I was anticipating some beautiful flowers.
In case you are wondering about the tomato plants that Dan started from seed and has been diligently caring for, feeding, watering, repotting as needed, yes, they were outside last night. Yes, they were flattened, hanging sideways in their pots (Dan was going to plant them when he could get in the garden.). But there is good news! When I went out a little bit ago, they were all standing straight up! Hooray! Dan will be happy.
And remind me, somebody, not to schedule any more 8:00am appointments!
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