Mother Nature's Surprises

Super Tuesday tornado outbreak in February 2008 was strong and long lived.  We had roof damage, lost half of our barn (no insurance) and many, many trees. We were lucky.

The neighborhood just over the rise had one person killed and several homes destroyed along with life stock.  The small town of Zion, six miles away,  had one death and the same destructive result.

Here are two pictures from Zion.  I would like to repeat how lucky this county was. Being in a rural area most damage was in sparsely populated areas.

Hubby was Emergency Manager and was out for 36 hours straight  (and for weeks afterwards), organizing, rescuing, and working.  The people were wonderful.  Every one was out with chain saws clearing trails, checking on their neighbors and feeding the people. I was counting cows and calming the horses when a ATV appeared through another pasture to check on us.  I still don't know to this day who it was!

The tornado keeps on giving.  This is one of the large pecan trees.  About twenty feet off the ground we have found a brake cable, we think.  The recent constant winds must have dislodged it and dropped it down where we could see.

Another surprise from Mother Nature is the broken bottle I found as I was cutting down Virginia Creeper from the side of the same tree.  The root had grown through a buried bottle. The mouth of the bottle still was attached to the root.

Mother Nature and man leaves us many surprises,

good and bad.

Here's my most recent find left behind from the previous occupants.

Mother Nature has many secrets.

Secrets

The ground held secrets
Shivering  in rows
Packed
With deep roots
Counting time
Mending
Planning to heal
Gathering strength
For the time
They burst forth
With a growl
Knowing secrets
Are never hidden
From Heaven

Written for Poets United  Imagirary Gardens With Real Toads and The Sunday Whirl