What a Storm!

Second Post of the Day (I did it!)

Like most midwesterners, when the tornado sirens begin, I pop outside to scan the skies. And I did so yesterday when they went off.

Whoa. Never have I experienced winds like that. The trees were lashing about in circles and the rain was very heavy and blowing every which way. Trees whipping around in circles? I'd never, ever  seen that in my tornado-siren-forays-I'm-just-gonna-check-for-a-minute-I'll-be-fine-but-you-go-take-shelter-dear experiences.

I quickly ran into the house, slammed the door shut, and hustled back to join Craig and the dogs in our tornado shelter. (Also called "the laundry room." Hah!)

"It is really bad outside," I told Craig. And we sat there with the dogs for half an hour following news reports and learning that the rotation was very, very close. (And even closer to the barn.)

Two tornados were on radar, one at Purdue's Airport and one right by the barn.

Tim and Loni live close to the barn and their yard took a hard hit. Their home is unscathed, but they lost three big, beautiful trees. 

This is one of them. Tim hopped in his truck to check the horses but could not get to the barn due to trees down over the roads. He did finally get there and they were fine. (The old barn survives yet another storm!)

This next photo shows Brooke Sauter's home. Brooke is the director of The Feast of the Hunters' Moon and leads the Feast Sewing Circle.

Fortunately she, Tom, and their animals are okay. Their home? She will know later today.

Lisa's school was also in the path of the tornado. 

I don't have any building damage reports yet, but this is a tree across the road from her school.

And a power pole that snapped at the base at the school. (All photos are from social media or friends.)

It makes me so sad when I see a venerable old tree damaged like this. But I also know that it will survive.

I hope the people in this home are okay and the house isn't badly damaged.

Leslie and Rick's corn crop took heavy damage. This is an indigenous corn plant and last year the same corn was also toppled in a storm. That corn still bloomed and produced, so their fingers are crossed.

Fields of corn outside of town are in a similar state but they are not indigenous and so not as hardy. I hope for the farmers' sakes that they survive and their crops are not lost.

The storm wreaked havoc all over Indiana. This is the street a block over from my sister Jenny's home in Indianapolis.

Also by Jenny's home. She was without power until 5:00 this morning.

This was all the damage we had - surprising since the winds were so fierce. I can handle having flowers blown off my bushes and am thankful that, given the wind I experienced, things are not much worse. 

Having seen and experienced that wind, I feel lucky and very grateful things are not worse. Indiana dodged a bullet for sure.

Tornado Damage

While we were in Utah, Indiana and Ohio got pounded by tornadoes several times. Three hit the county in which I live, and one of them touched down out by the barn.

A photo of one of the three tornadoes in Tippecanoe County.

I was concerned when I heard the news, especially since the horses prefer to shelter in the old barn during storms and inclement weather. 

 I love the old barn at Tim's. (That's Abby peeking her head out of the door.)

It is such a peaceful place, cool in the summer and warm in the winter, and full of that wonderful horsey smell.

When I was a teenager, my 4-H leader had a similar old barn that collapsed and came down during some high winds. His horses were inside it, but luckily none were hurt aside from some scratches. I think about that whenever there is a bad storm in the area and wonder if the old barn will be able to withstand the winds.

I texted Tim as soon as I heard about the tornadoes. He confirmed that we had sustained some damage.

The old barn and the new barn did not have any damage but the blue barn did. Five trees came down and some of the fences need repairing. The playhouse that Tim has for his grandchildren was lost, too, but all things considered, things are okay.

Thankfully, the horses are fine, and the old barn has weathered yet another Indiana storm.