What a Hail of a Day

In the end, the pictures tell only a part of the story. The rest you had to experience for yourself. The winds came at 124 mph with hail to boot. Not once, but twice, about 45 minutes apart. Whatever buds were left on the flowers after the first bout were instantly gone in the second. And since the radar only showed green, we didn't put the car in. Bad choice. Now we have a big crack in the windshield.

Oh, did I mention, we have company in town? My cousin from Denver is here, and our friends from Michigan are also here. Lea was (and that's the operative word here) sleeping in the camper. Now the camper has a hole in the roof of the bathroom, and both seals are gone over the beds, which are a bit damp. Not to mention, the wind took the canvas wall clear off the back part of the camper, stripping it from it's hold and tearing the screws out of the wall that keeps the top from collapsing.

We were also supposed to be having a grill out during the storm, with bunches of people and tons of food. Well, that didn't exactly pan out as planned, either. I ended up helping check on the elderly people in town after the storm with the EMS and Fire Departments working on power lines and getting trees out of the roads, and Al was holding down the fort at home with two other adult helpers.

That evening, the plan was for me to work ambulance that night for the rodeo with Lea and baby and Al was taking the rest of the crew to the races in Gering. We were each about 90 minutes late for our endeavors, arriving wet and cold with little energy, but enjoying ourselves because of the great company.

Now, Lea is sleeping on our couch, her car in our neighbor's garage (they're gone for the weekend and I have the key) :-) and Jonathan & Emma are sharing the guest room. I was up at 0500 to feed Elia and couldn't get back to sleep, so I went out with the rake to start cleaning up the mess. Of course I took my camera, as well.

Since our street is in the middle of a paving project, I was able to be there when the workers showed up shortly after 0600 to survey the damage. I heard them cussing about what must have happened here, as they went yard to yard, picking up 2x4s that were nailed in to the gravel as concrete forms. I pointed out which way a few of them had floated the evening before. They seemed grateful, but overwhelmed with now having to work on the 4th of July. I even showed them pictures of their equipment under water. So much for a long weekend, huh guys?

That's all the news from here this week. We're still enjoying our company, but I'm starting to wonder if the fear of bad weather will keep future company away. Last April, we arranged a two day blizzard for Lea's folks. They are coming next week, so I really hope history doesn't repeat itself...