Category: Mother Nature

More Mother Nature

When you live by a river, you can expect occasional floods but this is an amazing shot of what it is like today. This photo was taken by a drone and placed on the cities website.

This is Davenport, Iowa, part of the Quad Cities area where 4 cities live, 2 on each side of the mighty Mississippi River. Usually at spring thaw after a high snow winter, we see this – never in July. But we have be inundated with storms and high rainfall since spring. Thus we have roads on both sides of the river closed due to flooding.

Some may think this photo is fake, AI or photoshopped but I assure you it isn’t. The ball park, Woodman Park, is on a little bit of a rise, plus it is surrounded by a higher retaining wall that the rest of the park. The blue line shows approximate location of the sidewalk retaining wall for the park which is usually 3-5 feet above the river.

You can seen to the far right the railroad track. It was recently raised due to being flooded out each spring. Here are a couple of photos of that same stretch of track in 2019.

Water has a power that is hard to match. I guess that is why we try to harness it power with dams to make electricity.

I am sure each area where we live has its own battles with mother nature, I just thought I would share mine. Stay safe and remember to share kindness, especially when times are hard.

Amazing…ly Scary

We all know that Mother Nature, even in her finest, can be a force to be reckoned with. Monday, we were hit with another round of sever weather. Its been a rough summer for us. Monday’s storm brought one small tornado to our town with an eight minute path of destruction. There were others in the area as well but this one was too close for comfort. Understand, there is really nothing small about any tornado, they go from bad to horrid. Fortunately, no severe damage was done that I know of and I have not heard of any casualties but I do know some people had to be rescued after the storm.

My house faces east, so the back yard was in full onslaught as the storm made its approached. Pictures don’t really show how black the sky was.

The tornado that was in Davenport was one block from my church and in a last ditch effort to destroy, the tornado took one of our beautiful trees that lined our sidewalk. The storm a few weeks ago took out a tree on the other side of the church by breaking it in half. They will usually do that or completely knock the tree to the ground. But when surveying the ground, I feel the funnel cloud was lifting when it hit this tree and twisted it with the 100 MPH force of the funnel, lifting it into the air. Look at the pictures and see what I mean. I could be totally wrong but this is what I feel happened.

You can see from where the tree was planted, the dirt is not really heaved to one side like they do when knocked over. The hole is rounded and somewhat smooth. The base of the tree also suggests it was twisted off like a bottle cap as no deep roots are present and the roots still attached show a twisted motion.

And this is no small tree.

You can’t tell from the picture, but there is an indention under the trunk. I think the tree was dropped here and feel backwards toward the sidewalk. It left drag marks from it’s home. The drag marks are small as if it was from the trunk, not the tree limbs.

It was moved a good 30-40 feet before falling back to the ground.

Here you can see where the tree was originally planted on your right and now where it lays, 180 degrees from a normal fall direction. As I said earlier, I am no expert, but in my opinion, taking in the size and weight of the tree, plus the direction it is now laying, suggest it fell from the sky. Mother nature can indeed be a scary beast. Remember when storms are coming, please be over-safe to make sure you can take crazy pictures like these once the storm is gone.

And as always, I remind you to be extra kind when you can. You may be that light of sunshine someone needs.

In the Midst of a Storm

Yesterday for the Midwest, it was a turbulent day of rain, hail, wind, and tornadoes. Fortunately, we survived the madness but others did not fare as well. I don’t think anyone was injured but trees, powerlines and some buildings did get damaged. I got some interesting pictures I thought I would share of the ominous clouds as they passed over my house.

There were two lines of the storm and I thought (foolishly) that I could zip between them to the McDonald’s down the street for a quick burger. As I drove into the parking lot, the sun looked like a glowing ball in dark gray sky, making the area look like a black and white photo.

Then while in the drive-through line, the deluge started. Fortunately, it was a short-lived line. As I was leaving the glowing ball made the sky look it was on fire surrounded by eerie luminous clouds.

Mother nature doing her thing. Even in the wrath of a storm, there is beauty that she creates if you look hard enough. May we also show beauty in all that we do. I think if we are always kind, then beauty will always be seen, therefore…we should always be kind.

Always Be Kind!

FOTD, August 5, Hopeful

Cee’s Flower of the Day allows you to pick most anything that grows, so today I give you hopeful.

This beautiful flower came up by accident because I forgot about it but my dog dumped the pot upside down allowing the bulb to grow by itself.

I was sad when I saw that all the flowers were gone and that no seed pods came in their place like daylilies do. I had hoped it would expand and I was willing to let it continue to spread. But upon closer inspection yesterday, I saw the buds were there, they were just now forming.

So I am excited for next spring to see how they will do. I will modify the bed giving them more ease of expansion. Nature is a magnificent force of survival that not only takes care of vegetation but also man and animals.

So enjoy all parts of nature and remember to treat it with kindness. Kindness has a beauty and power that we all need to share to help all of us enjoy natures bounty.

First Spring Walk, FOTD

Many of you who read my blog, know that we were hit with a devasting storm the first week of April. We are still cleaning up downed tree from the 90 MPH straight line wind. I was reminded today, on my first official walk and photo fun of spring 2023, that God is always in charge. While some homes were damaged(including mine), there were no deaths from this straight line beast. The small tornado that touched down at the same time about 1/2 mile from us, did however take a life. Spring storms can not be taken lightly here in the US. Last week, I noticed my neighbor had lost an lovely ornamental fruit tree. It was super sad to me as it was in full bud. But today as I walked by the pile of debris ready for the tree service people to pick up I saw the buds had opened, still showing their beauty, even though torn from the tree and laying on the ground. Spring still came.

Mother Nature has powerful storms and a beauty she shares in all of the nature that surrounds us. Below are some of the pictures I took today on for first walk of spring. I hope you enjoy them and are enjoying the spring in your area.

My neighbors pear tree is beautiful but while I was at the stoplight by the park, I got rained on by magnolia flower petals and had to go takes some pictures.

The flowers in my yard are just opening up and I wanted to share their happy faces as Cee reminds us with her FOTD challenge.

As we begin the warmer weather, where the beauty of flowers begins to make us smile, let us not forget the kindness they are reflecting with their beauty and always be kind.

The Lion Continues

Our area of the midwest is under sever weather warning…again. The first band that came through at 9 a.m. had to have had 60-80 mph winds, trees were broken like twigs. Mother Nature can have a really ugly side and I hope all are safe from this latest storm front. I am enclosing a few shots of the trees down at my house – proving that I am glad I have no trees of my own.

This was a huge fir tree that snapped about 20′ high. It came completely across the alleyway and I had to move some branches out of the way to get my car in the safety of the garage in case the storms this afternoon and evening are worse. Fortunately, there was no hail in this wind or there would have been broken windows in my sunroom. My neighbor totally lost their prefab sunroom in their backyard.

This picture looks toward the other direction of the ally. A total of three trees were knocked down crossing it.

The houses across the street are on a rise and they were hit harder by the wind. This tree seemed to have twisted before it gave way and it was a sizable tree.

I always close with a reminder that even in chaos we can always be kind. I got the chance to interact with a neighbor who has never liked me, and we had a nice conversation. Sometimes tragedy brings people together to find a peaceful ground.

So always be kind even when others are not kind to you.

It messes with their head.

In Like a Lamb…Out like a Lion

But for us, it is flipped. March came in super easy, almost unseasonably warm. The entire month was a weird roller coaster from warm to very cold. Now the entire midwest and south is in for a severe ride.

For the first time in more than 2 years, the Storm Prediction Center has issued a 5 out 5 threat for severe weather in parts of the middle of the country. The Weather Channel

Line 1 just slipped past us with small hail that sounded like pebbles slamming against the windows. Currently a large tornado with 3 inch hail is headed to Iowa City. Mother nature can be a beast in the spring and her format is changing, or rather moving, with global warming.

Line 2 is due through here around 6 with possible tornados and heavy hail. Hang on to your hats folks – it is moving east. The deep south and east coast could have severe weather tonight through tomorrow. The problem with these current sets of lines is they are loaded with supercells. These are some shots taken of supercells last year in our area. Wicked looking monsters.

According to the forecasters’, that is the worse scenario as each supercell can generate severe weather and/or tornadoes. Mississippi was hit last week with tornados and this storm front is split into two section – one in the middle of the country and one in the south.

Everyone needs to pay attention to what the weather is doing. You never know when she may unleash her fury on your area. So be careful, be mindful and most of all be kind. Especially if your area gets imploded. Disaster needs kindness from everyone so that we can survive the madness of our own storms.

Only 1-2…Really??!?

God bless our weathermen. They really try but no one can 100% predict what Mother Nature will do. At bedtime is was 1-2 inches but the roads are warm so it won’t last long, right? And 8 hours later…we had 7 inches…and it’s still snowing. Look at the size of those flakes.

It is rather graceful how this very wet snow clings to the trees. It gives them a covering of graceful lace on the bare branches of winter, although it’s weight plays havoc on the evergreens.

But the beauty it creates on the hardwoods is almost magical as it enhances all the twisted and curvy limbs.

Mother Nature, can be beautiful in most every way, but dangerously violent at times. I pray that the spring and summer storms treat you kindly this year. May the only thing we see is its beauty…or maybe it’s humor.

I am not sure the birds find the snow humorous…but a birds gotta eat and with everything covered in snow, the feeder is the easiest meal.

Since I actually have little to do this weekend, I was going to get some good shots of the sky for Hammad Rais prompt for weekend sky. Go check out his superman in the sky this week. Alas, mine is all gray, so maybe next weekend.

Remember as always, that kindness has a power that can melt a cold heart. Kindness covers like a soft blanket of snow and not matter how small an act of kindness you share, it creates ripples of love that fanout like the roots of a tree.

Always Be Kind

And So It Begins…

The change of the season is upon us. The cool evenings have seeped into the leaves of the red maples making them the first to change and my favorite fall trees.

Unfortunately some of the best trees with the widest spreads are in our cemetery. So that is usually my first stop for pictures.

Once the reds are done, the yellows follow making a bright contrast from the reds. Enjoy the season, our last colorful season of the year. While the whites of winter are beautiful in their own way, I do miss the colors of the other three seasons. And in closing I remind you that Kindness never has a season. It should always be spread where ever you can to all kinds of living creatures.