The results of approx. 90MPH wind gusts can be disastrous!

Here is the promised picture post!

Before I show photos of the storm damage though, I wanted to share about some of the exciting things that were accomplished on our farm (after camp-cleanup was done, that it.)

Dad and I put hooks and staples on the greenhouse doors so they can now latch open (instead of us having to prop them open with a tire and a pallet...) Then, we cut the soft mesh wire screen that Dad had bought at Menards and covered the doors so the bugs have to stay OUT---especially the white cabbage moths! :) We still have to figure out a good system for closing up the part where we enter and exit the greenhouse... Have any helpful ideas?



Hip Hip Hooray---Andrew's lawnmower/garden tractor now works and he took the time to work up the garden yesterday. It has to be gone over again, after some manure is spread on it, and then we'll be able to plant our garden! We realized after the storm the other night that it really was a blessing that we didn't have our plants growing in the garden yet, as they probably would have been wiped out. God truly does know best!

As it's so late already, the weeds were quite healthy and were getting all wrapped up in the tiller, so I went ahead of Andrew and mowed them off. We had some "Volunteer" onions (ones we missed last fall, as they were covered up by squash vines), garlic, and flowers that we went around...

And now, about the storm...

Thursday night (or Friday morning, actually), shortly after 1:00AM, all of us (except Jacob, who needed to be woke up, as he can sleep through ANYTHING!) woke up and met in the dining room, as there was a sudden HUGE wind and rain/hail storm that hit. The lightning was flashing almost constantly, the thunder was rolling occasionally, and the wind was blowing the swings nearly straight out! The storm was so fierce that most of us headed downstairs, in case there would be a tornado, which, THANKFULLY there wasn't.

The next morning, when I went out, camera in-hand, to investigate, I found our trampoline smashed up against the corner of the house (in our flower bed). This was no great loss, as we've not been able to use it for some time now, as the whole thing was falling apart and was no longer safe to jump on. One time, the boys were jumping on it and 2 springs all of a sudden popped off and went flying through the air and they heard at least 1 of them hit into a grain bin that was quite some distance away! We decided it was at last time to take our old friend of 7+ years apart and to put it in storage as parts for any ?future? trampolines that we might have.

Also in this picture, you can see the "Welcome" mat on the right side of Millie. It is supposed to be down on the lower step of the cement path to our doorway.



One of the first places I headed to was, yes, to our greenhouse. As I approached, I noticed a board lying on top of the plastic on top, and then it was that I realized that all of the rafters to the storage shed were GONE!

As I went in the building to climb up and see where they were, I was greeted by this sight:

Ah-hah! That's where they went to.

Thankfully, the rafters blew down the right way and all landed on the floor of the building instead of blowing the other way, off the end of the building and crashing down to the ground. The rafters are still pretty broken up, so it will be a mess to get things back to the way they were last Fall when we put them up. Here's another picture of our sad looking building:

As far as the greenhouse goes, Dad designed it very well apparently, as it didn't budge an inch. However, the plastic on top did rip a bit, so I tried taping it together, but am not sure how long that will hold. There were also a few tiny indents and holes where the hail was, but all the plants were safe inside. PTL!!!

Our calf shelter was turned sideways, but was undamaged. A small wooden hut/building was tipped completely over. Some of the tin on our pole-barns is loose. The jeans that were going to spend the night on the wash-line ended up spending it in the grass some 100+ feet away from the wash-line. The swings got very tangled and somewhat banged up again, and the teeter-totter board that I just painted now has paint missing where the hail hit it. All of that is minimal though, compared to what could have happened. "Thank you, Heavenly Father for looking out for us!"

Toward the end of the day, Dad (with Jacob on behind) and Andrew (with me on behind) headed down to Kintyre on the motorcycles to see what damage had been done there, as our neighbor, Ann had told me that a grain bin had been smashed. We soon found that many large trees had also gone down, such as this one:

And these:

A stump that used to be a tree a few days ago:

We got off the bikes and went closer to examine some the hugs roots of one of the trees that had fallen:

There were a few more trees there that seemed to be leaning more than they did before, so it may not be long before they too take a tumble like this tree did?

For those of you who don't know, Kintyre is just a mile and a half away from our farm, so some of the wind that did this damage also made it up to our place! See that big smashed grain bin, way on the right side of the elevator?

The front door was also blown in:

We're wondering if "They" will keep the elevator open, now that it's storage is even less.... How sad!

This door on Titan's storage building was not dented this way before the storm either...

Thankfully, I don't know of anyone getting hurt in the storm.

Today was a much more peaceful day. Mom and the boys went out target practicing this afternoon, while I sewed on my dress (it's been a whole week since I've worked on it!) and Dad fixed Mom's sewing machine so I can baste with a machine instead of by hand. My sewing machine options (stitch length included) don't work anymore since the electronic panel quite working, so I'm not able to do basting stitches on it.

Also, today we started reading a book about the life of John Birch--a Christian missionary and a real hero! We're only into the book about a third of the way, but are already amazed what this John all did in his lifetime. May the Lord raise up more John Birches in this world today!

I thought I'd leave you with several verses tonight, also by a John. I thought the latter ones to be most relevant for this post!

John 3:4-8

"...Nicodemus saith unto him,

How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?

Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth:

so is every one that is born of the Spirit."