Kansas in the springtime. Colors pop from flowering pear trees in shades of pinks and purples and bulbs poke their heads through the soil; prairie pastureland turns black from (mostly) controlled burning and the air smells of smoke. Within days, lush green spikes appear. Bradford pears bloom white for a day or two until a storm with 40mph gusts blow the flowers away. It’s a gorgeous time of year – except for the tornadoes.
The weather guys introduced a new term to me yesterday – Tor Con – tornado condition. (Has this term been around forever?) Apparently, northeast Kansas is on the edge of the greatest threat of tornado activity today – 7 or 8 on a scale of 10. Ugh.
Yesterday was a quiet day. No wind to speak of. So imagine my surprise when I opened the garage this morning and saw this:
Half my lovely Bradford Pear fell across my driveway. Sigh. I’m hoping the tree guys, who can’t get here until 2pm, can beat the storms that are predicted to move in this afternoon. I don’t know if the tree can be saved. How sad. Don’t you hate to see downed trees?
Needless to say this put a slight dent in my writing plans this morning. My brain got a bit sidetracked. I’m at my desk now and watching the winds pick up. Time to hit those revisions. Both laptops are fully charged, so I’ll be able to revise away for several hours if we lose power tonight (though it’s hard to type when you’re squished into a closet with pillows & blankets over your head during a tornado warning). Fingers crossed that it won’t come to that. Now…on to chapter 17.
May you & yours stay safe from storms.
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