In February we had a Tornado touch down less than a mile from our house. We watched from the front yard as a funnel cloud formed and came out of the sky. Tim watched longer than I did, I was busy getting supplies to take to the basement. Tim was mesmerized by it. He said he watched as the whole storm cloud was moving fast in our direction. Just as he finally decided he better come in the funnel cloud began to dissipate and what was left seemed to go back up. But in the distance he could hear the 'freight train' sound of the Storm. He was surprised at the mechanical sound of it. He had always expected it would be more of just a loud wind.
We were blessed and did not receive any damage. Unfortunately, homes just around the corner from us were destroyed or severely damaged. No loss of life! Which was amazing when you see the damage. The above picture is of a lovely old barn that Tim and I had always admired. We felt bad when we saw this. Tim didn't like the idea of me taking pictures of the homes. He felt for the people and it just seemed wrong, at the time, to him. The whole community has been pulling together and much has already been accomplished in the weeks since this happened.
We've had a very mild winter and spring came early. In fact the above picture was taken on the 30th of January!! We had some cold snaps after that but they survived and kept blooming. I'm sure we'll pay a price in the amount of bugs we'll have this summer. I did enjoy this winter, however and you'll not hear me complain about the bugs. Well, maybe about the ticks.....nasty things!
First Butterfly I've photographed so far this year. My Cherry tree bloomed profusely in March. I am hoping we have more time to get out for some time in nature, hiking, hunting for herbs and wildflowers and just generally relaxing. We are so busy working in our remodeling business and after that we work on our own house! Can't be helped, tis the season of our lives. Just thankful to have plenty of work right now.
