Crazy Storm –The Boy With the Purple-Green Hair

This year we have had 3 hail storms plus yesterdays storm which had a little bit of hail, but a lots of wind! All through town large trees have been snapped or uprooted.  Right after the storm, Ted and I jumped into the car and drove downtown. Some streets were impassable due to fallen trees. Electricity was out in parts of the town.  Considering the damage around us, we were not badly damaged.  A few good size branches needed cleaning up.


We drove downtown and checked on family and friends. Everyone was safe but large trees and branches were down everywhere.  When we returned home, we found friends checking on us! We have 2 huge old elm trees. We worry about them, but we keep them pruned and I know they have long, long roots that travel outward in the garden. Sometimes when I am digging at the back of the garden I will find their pinkish colored roots.  This morning’s Rapid City Journal had a picture of a baseball size hail stone. Rapid City is 60 miles to the north of us. It is our areas largest city.   The paper said today was to be 92 degrees. Ted spent the whole day cutting up logs with the chainsaw.  Thankfully all day there was family or friends helping him.  The hum of chain saws started early this morning. Later this afternoon I drove downtown and was amazed at the clean up. Our one traffic light was working again! Some trees are still down and many trees look craggy or topless.  Ok enough of that!

The boy with the purple-green hair lost his marbles in the storm. But a little while ago, I went and gathered them up and put them back in his head. His purple hair is looking a bit ragged.
 
Earlier this month Barb and Mike, family, brought me a bouquet of dahlias grown in Barb’s garden. His pet is this pebble mosaic frog planter. I bought this planter from a neighbor who was moving away.  Grandiflora coreopsis grows out of his back. It tends to dry out so I have the soil mulched down with a big clump of leaf mold.

Here he is where he resides. For that matter, many mornings here is where I reside.

It’s 7pm and I had to pause my blog to go out and get an insect picture. I could get pictures of grasshoppers, but given the choice I would rather squish them under my shoe that take their picture. I am so pleased I was able to get this picture.  There are lots of fallen twigs and sticks. I’d better go out and pick some up!