yesterday...

Talked to my sister tonight, Their generator is still hummin and their power company doesn't know when the power will be back on to them.  Their phone company set up a portable generator at the fiber optic junction box to run the fans and power the system, so today they had phone service again, funny thing is, they still have the copper wire to their house yet. Must have been pretty bad to stop the phone systems with all the under ground wiring.

 

 Raked some hay today that has been cut over a week ago...and been rained on at least 4 times...  ground now is soggy wet, and limbs out of trees out in the field and a big oak came down and a bunch of popples and a maple. had to rake around them on the outside swaths... need to cut that stuff up and get it out of the way... Oh well, sure glad it wasn't like some areas.

 She comes out and says Burnett County Alert system just called and said severe storms headed this way... Chit, again? We just had one of them not long ago. Oh well we get on the road and I looks back and there is a dam black bank of clouds behind us. Yup, don't look good. Get out of truck an maynards and sweat just rolls off you.  Walk in an nice inside....We look around and pick up what she wanted.... and I walk by their price reduced bin... Ole Desert Joe might be proud of me, I spies 7 sheets of Weathered Cedar paneling... $32.00 full price for 6 bucks a sheet... just a couple inches at the one end had damage. Just who has 8 foot walls anymore? Not the room I am thinking it needs to go in.

Well, next we hear rain on the roof, then look out and sun shine turned to night and lights came on outdoors.... and watched stuff in menards yard get blown around some... We check out and load stuff under one edge of roof and were not to bad at staying dry and wrap the panel up.  and now  it isn't raining hard anymore ... get out and head for home... police cars and ambulances whiz by, and we take secondary roads home. Seen trees with limbs busted off and laying right at their base, trees across the road, water over the road and got to one tree and had to bust limbs off to get through... another tree we stop and start busting limbs off and a fellow behind me comes and helps bust the bigger limbs and he takes off and drives under a tree little farther ahead and I start leaving an... dang tree starts coming down...shoulda stepped hard on the gas and get through, but...I didn't know how fast it would drop in its final fall. Shoulda grabbed the camera and took video. Geezzz, 2 vehicles behind me and can't get through... Limbs are bigger so I grab the chain and start breaking limbs off with the truck... Fellow shows up with his chainsaw from the other side and starts cutting so we help him... He said he had trees in his yard that were bending over at 90 degrees but did not bust, he was lucky. Now 5 cars behind us and not one of them came to help clear... Finally got the road open and we start leaving and here comes first fellow with his tractor and backhoe to help clear the road. 

 Seen debris and trees broke off or down and fields flattened and reminded me of the time we had a rolling wind that rolled on the ground and rain came 30' into the barn and it flattened trees too.  

 We get home and drive in and see our Catalpa tree is no longer standing tall, but it had gotten catapulted to the ground. Broke it off at the crotch 12' up where it spread out. Thats the last of the nice flowers it would have... but no more of them long bean seed pods... always wondered if they were good for anything. Last week I was thinking it was so nice to have shade again that we lost when taking down a Box Elder tree about 30 years ago.  Well that didn't last long after that thought.  Nothing else seemed too damaged, had lots of Cotton wood limbs scattered around.. Had an empty 55 gallon barrel under the eves and it was full to the top. 

 Later we listened to the news and other areas got hit a lot harder than we did. 

 Then woke up this morning to more heavy rains and thunder and lightning... and it finally stopped. Wonder if it is for a few moments or a few days.     just some news from this neck of the woods.