Weekend Projects and Afternoon Thunderstorms

As has been the habit of late, Paul and I have been spending the weekends on projects (between the chores). Here he is working very hard on sawing curtain rods in half so we can maybe someday get started on getting curtains up in our bedroom (yes, we are still getting dressed in the dark).

This weekend I was blown away by how much our yard has changed since I was home last weekend. This was this past weekend:

... and this was the weekend before!
Our other major accomplishment this weekend was getting our furniture moved into the house with the help of two gardeners and our neighbors. This dining room table (without the leaf) took 4 men to carry it into the house. Plus, we then had to attach the 8 legs and then flip it over- quite an ordeal. Wish I had had the camera handy! It is starting to feel more like a home with each piece of furniture we set up.

Just as the furniture was moved in (more pictures later) a thunderstorm broke out and it felt like one of those great summer showers with warm temps. and high humidity, complete with thunder and lightening. We opened the windows that were sheltered and listened to the rain and thunder. It ended up raining all night long and into Monday, and the whole way up to Virginia.

The clouds broke as I got there and so we decided to try sampling a well. We were just setting up to start work when rain started coming down in buckets and an emergency broadcast came over the radio announcing a tornado alert in our town. We quickly packed up and left the site, ominous clouds in the rear-view mirror. I got back to my hotel 15 minutes later and saw on the hotel lobby TV that a tornado struck somewhere in the city where we were and ten miles down the road in the shopping center where we often go to eat dinner. Sadly, 200 people in the area were injured and the regions struck have been declared in a state of emergency. Repairs are underway, but I haven't heard any details this evening.

On a positive note, Mavis and Big Red are doing great with all the rain, and we have a new addition to the tree family: a Japanese maple seedling that I found growing in the grass of the site I've been working at in Virginia. It was about to be mowed with the grass, and I just had to save it to add to our growing forest. Japanese maples are gorgeous!