HIGH FLYING FLAG

We've recently had some treacherous weather here in southwestern Ohio but you wouldn't know it to look out over the corn fields today where all is calm and sunny. After visiting my mother last Friday, I headed east toward Centerville (actually thinking I'd do a quick browse-through at Goodwill) and drove directly into some of the highest wind gusts I'd ever experienced. I had the car radio on and heard an admonition to "take cover". Just as I heard it, I began to see debris swirling in the air and the skies immediately grew dark and ominous looking. I'm either very brave or very stupid, because I would have stopped at Goodwill had it been open (since I was in the vicinity), but most of the shops in that area had lost power and closed. I thought perhaps it would be a good idea to turn around and go home.  It took quite awhile to get back here because most of the traffic lights had lost power too. For the most part, people were considerate and treating each intersection as if it was a four-way stop. There were a few who thought they needed to get to their destinations quicker than the rest of us, but over all, it wasn't a terrible experience. I did run over a huge branch on my road and it became caught under the car, but I was able to dislodge it. I'm betting the cows and calves that watched me work on untangling the branch were entertained. As I talked to the new calves and their mamas, two more babies came to the fence to see what was happening. I wonder what they were thinking.      

As soon as I arrived home, I learned our power had gone out and I'd need a flashlight to tend to the cats. I went into the barn to check on them and found some of their litter boxes sitting in water. I moved the boxes (there are many and they are BIG) out of the water and realized the leak hadn't been extensive, just annoying. I went about the business of cat care and then came inside and told Glenn about the leak. He checked the roof and found it had indeed been damaged. Then we began looking around outside the barn and found that huge branches had fallen from the trees. He was gathering those when I noticed a number of logs from our split-rail fence had been toppled. He set those back in place, but the fence is old and needs to be replaced so that was probably to be expected. I really like the old rustic fence and hope it lasts a little longer.

It wasn't until Glenn and I were placing Americana bunting on the fence last night that I realized my brand new welcome flag had apparently been a victim of the raging wind. I'd hung it just a few days prior to the bad weather. The thing is, it was hooked onto a pole and the pole was fine. How in the world did the flag come off a pole that has a big knob on the end of it? The flag must have been ripped to shreds. I put up another flag but searched the area around the barn to see if I could find the tattered pieces of the other one. There was nothing to be found. The shredded flag is probably laying in someone's field and will be found come harvest time. I did find two large sections of aluminum siding in the cornfield across the road though. It's the same color as ours but we don't see any section of the house that is missing siding - another mystery.

A few minutes ago, I received a call from my good friend, Deanna, in Columbus. Here I am blogging about my tattered flag and she's still experiencing the bad effects of last week's storms. Her power has not yet been restored and isn't expected to be back on until the end of this week. She lost nearly everything that was in her refrigerator and has only one fan going, and the power for the fan is courtesy of a neighbor with a generator. I hadn't heard any further weather updates about storm damage because I don't listen to the radio much during the day and rarely tune in to the news on TV. I wasn't deliberately burying my head in the sand, but I definitely feel very petty right now. The things we experienced here are nothing compared to what some have dealt with and continue to endure. I probably should delete this whole post but I'll leave it as a reminder to myself of how fortunate I am to have had my power restored and how blessed I am to be inside a cool house when it's scorching outside. I invited Deanna and her family to come down here and stay until her power is back but she sweetly declined. Some of  her family members live closeby and she'll go and stay with them if she needs to. She told me she's reading Little House on the Prairie books and planning to work on some crocheted projects. She certainly has the pioneer spirit.         

 NOT SURE I SHOULD PUT THIS ONE OUT FOR ALL TO SEE

 THIS IS VERY SIMILAR TO THE FLAG THAT FLEW AWAY 

JUST HAD TO SHARE THIS PHOTO A FRIEND SHARED WITH ME.

THESE ARE NOT MY CATS, BUT DON'T THEY LOOK JUST LIKE THEM?

MY FRIEND AND I LOVE THE SUNFLOWER CAT PERCH.

I'd planned to post something about trying to find another flag to replace the one I lost, but that seems so trivial at the moment. I'm thankful Deanna and her family are safe and have shelter and I'm very grateful for my safety and shelter as well. We're safe, the cats are safe, and the roof will eventually be fixed. Life is still good.