What a tumultuous week! It began with a long drive back from NC, weighed down with heavy hearts. On Tuesday I got the news I had been dreading...my mother's liver is failing, irrevocably. It is just a matter of how much time the meds can buy her. On Wednesday, a severe storm ripped through our neck of the woods. We got lucky, compared to some, but it was one scary five minutes or so as the heart of the storm roared overhead. Our house held up well, and our cars were under cover, so we count our blessings. I immediately went out to fill the bird feeders...seeing a poor, bedraggled little fellow looking dazed and confused told me all I needed to know about how hard this had been on our feathered friends. Today, more rain, clogged downspouts, and the beginning of the rush by some to profit from our community's misfortune, though they likely will not find easy pickings here. For those who don't know, I live in a town that was almost leveled in 1974 by a killer tornado, and then took another savage hit in the 1990s. For some of these folk, this was just another storm, severe but paling in comparison to what they have weathered in the past. For us, it was a glimpse into the terror so many have felt this horrible season. It was only a glimpse...our storm broke just as we thought it might batter our little house down. For this I am most thankful, if also humbled at our good fortune.
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| Perfect blue skies on Monday! |
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| Our surprise wildflower, with daisies in the background, waiting their turn to bloom. |
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| One of our mourning dove couples :-) |
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| On Tuesday I took a detour through sheep country :-) |
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| And a local cemetery. |
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| This week I spruced up the home place with some new flowers |
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| And a lovely new flag (thanks, Amy!). |
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| We had a yard full of doves and sparrows on the eve of the storm. |
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| The storm hits |
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| Hard. |
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| The hail tells the tale. |
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| Robin: "What the..." |
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| Today the wildlife returns: Goldfinches! |
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| And the local squirrel. |
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| Salvaged wildflower blooms, broken by the hail, now decorate our kitchen. |
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| A sparrow rests under shelter, glad the storm has passed. |
