A Stormy Night In The Ozarks

What a night last night!  As we were preparing to hed to church we heard the weather radio go off.  We listened and found that a severe thunderstorm warning had been issued forour county.  Since we live an hour's drive from church we decided to stay home, brother am I glad we did.

The radar showed green globs (rain) heading toward us from the north west, as they got over us they exploded into crimson red.  So, five minutes after the decision to stay home, I unplugged the electronics and the electric fence outside, all the while the lightning was becoming more intense.  (Have you ever disconnected an electric fence in a lightning storm?  Scary I tell you!)  Five minutes from that all heck broke loose-yes that fast.  Strait line winds (so they say) well over 90 mph and rain falling sideways.  I have been praying for rain but I could do without the nasty stuff.

The whole thing lasted about 15 minutes and gradually tapered off.  We ate our supper thinking we would go walk around outside to see what may have happened.  We got out and found our barn roof a good 100 yards away with debris from the structure all over the pasture.  Half of the roof is still up against our greenhouse, which now has a hole in it.  A whole section of the fence near that area was down with a T-post missing (I don't know where it is, but suspect it'll turn up someday).

Our neighbors (all family) were out as well and we found three trees had been blow over, two of them were across the main family driveway.  One had fallen into the adjoining pasture as my father-in-law was driving ritght under it.  He could proceed no further as one of the other trees was down in front of him.  The other men of the family were all at work (late shifts) and it was just me and my 19y.o. nephew.  We were at it till just before dark, cutting up the trees to remove the obticles, allowing the others to get through when they got home.  Then I went to fix my fence.  I put in a T-post, reconnected the wire and turned on the fence charger.  I was drenched with sweat in the 100 degree heat, I was sore from cutting up 2 humongous trees in an hour so I took a shower and went to bed.  I was paying for it this morning, let me tell you!

There was a lot of major damage in the town we go to church in located in northern Arkansas, so we were very glad we weren't on the road and very thankful to our Gracious Heavenly Father for His protection.

Now to repair the roof and cut up those trees into firewood.....