Robyn
New member
Hey guys and gals......I am a bit calmer today, and we got water today, so showers felt really good!
When the storm started rolling in, we were on the porch watching it, and listening to the news on the TV. They warned that a tornado was on the ground in Fairview (about 15 miles west of us) and was headed our way. We continued to watch the skies, and I had the front door open, as I was stepping in to watch the news, then back out to watch the skies.
With the door open, all the yard dogs headed into the house and they were not going to be coaxed out! and we didn't force the issue.
At one point, I told Jim that the sky was a strange green grey color and that it was coming our way. (You can't mistake that color) Then the rain hit and for a moment the rain was flying from the west, then it started flying from the east. And it was flying sideways.
We were hollering at Keevin to get to the basement, and Jim was grabbing a few things as we headed down the stairs. I paused for a moment to look out the french doors at the back of the house. The tree just out those doors...well, the only way to describe it...the branches were wrapping around the trunk. They looked like string being wound up on a spool.
We and the dogs :: Daisy, Ewok, Molly, Monroe, Clover and Sokol all hit the basement at about the same time. We have a small room under the stairs that has a mattress in it, and we keep lanterns (battery charged lanterns) and stuff like that in this little room. Things were pretty cramped in there with us and all the dogs....but, we were safe, and luckily muffled from all the noise that was going on upstairs.
At one point it sounded like there was water hitting the interior wall in the basement....we did have a couple of small puddles when it was all over, but I'm not sure where it came from. We have not found where it got in at.
When it was over, we went outside to see the mess.
The other pasture dogs and the goats were at the very back corner of the place, furthest away from any damage, trees, or barns.
(When it was raining, they had all been in the barn, but Jim said that when it started really getting bad and we were going in the house, he saw Rico leading them all out of the barn and to the back of the place)
Now, our goats are a bunch of ninny's and act like they will melt if they get wet, so how he convinced those girls to leave that barn, I will never understand, but they did.
Had they been in the barn, some of them would probably have gotten killed by the roof debris from the shed that is in our corral. The storm ripped the metal roof from that shed and scattered it through the big barn and over into the neighbor's field.
I had had Sokol out to trim some matts from his tail and bottom, and the storm side tracked us all, so he was in the house with us during the big event.
On Sunday, we did get power back on finally. (I can't complain, those guys were out working all night long) Some friends showed up, and they did in 3 hours what it would have taken Jim and I a month to clean up. I was in tears and awe of them. We were still in shock when they showed up with their chainsaws and a skid loader and started moving trees and debris from our back yard.
And this morning a friend of a friend showed up and got our water back on for us. Showers and hot water never felt so good!
After the tornado left here, it bounced over a couple of houses, then went right down a valley where is did untold amounts of damage. Houses, trees, and trailer houses were destroyed. They finally got the road through that valley opened up all the way today.
When we first came out after the storm, Keevin and I went down to check on the lady that lives at the end of our lane. She is in her 70's and lives alone. We had to climb over downed trees to get down to her house. she was not home, as she had been to another town with her daughter. I am so glad, because it had flipped her propane tank and it was leaking.
The Army is going to let my oldest, Clay, come home for 19 days to help us get stuff cleaned up around here. So, there was something good out of this whole mess. I will at least get to see him for a little while.
We are all sore and tired, but feeling a little bit better today than were were 2 days ago!
Thank you to all of you for your thoughts and prayers. It is all very much appreciated.
When the storm started rolling in, we were on the porch watching it, and listening to the news on the TV. They warned that a tornado was on the ground in Fairview (about 15 miles west of us) and was headed our way. We continued to watch the skies, and I had the front door open, as I was stepping in to watch the news, then back out to watch the skies.
With the door open, all the yard dogs headed into the house and they were not going to be coaxed out! and we didn't force the issue.
At one point, I told Jim that the sky was a strange green grey color and that it was coming our way. (You can't mistake that color) Then the rain hit and for a moment the rain was flying from the west, then it started flying from the east. And it was flying sideways.
We were hollering at Keevin to get to the basement, and Jim was grabbing a few things as we headed down the stairs. I paused for a moment to look out the french doors at the back of the house. The tree just out those doors...well, the only way to describe it...the branches were wrapping around the trunk. They looked like string being wound up on a spool.
We and the dogs :: Daisy, Ewok, Molly, Monroe, Clover and Sokol all hit the basement at about the same time. We have a small room under the stairs that has a mattress in it, and we keep lanterns (battery charged lanterns) and stuff like that in this little room. Things were pretty cramped in there with us and all the dogs....but, we were safe, and luckily muffled from all the noise that was going on upstairs.
At one point it sounded like there was water hitting the interior wall in the basement....we did have a couple of small puddles when it was all over, but I'm not sure where it came from. We have not found where it got in at.
When it was over, we went outside to see the mess.
The other pasture dogs and the goats were at the very back corner of the place, furthest away from any damage, trees, or barns.
(When it was raining, they had all been in the barn, but Jim said that when it started really getting bad and we were going in the house, he saw Rico leading them all out of the barn and to the back of the place)
Now, our goats are a bunch of ninny's and act like they will melt if they get wet, so how he convinced those girls to leave that barn, I will never understand, but they did.
Had they been in the barn, some of them would probably have gotten killed by the roof debris from the shed that is in our corral. The storm ripped the metal roof from that shed and scattered it through the big barn and over into the neighbor's field.
I had had Sokol out to trim some matts from his tail and bottom, and the storm side tracked us all, so he was in the house with us during the big event.
On Sunday, we did get power back on finally. (I can't complain, those guys were out working all night long) Some friends showed up, and they did in 3 hours what it would have taken Jim and I a month to clean up. I was in tears and awe of them. We were still in shock when they showed up with their chainsaws and a skid loader and started moving trees and debris from our back yard.
And this morning a friend of a friend showed up and got our water back on for us. Showers and hot water never felt so good!
After the tornado left here, it bounced over a couple of houses, then went right down a valley where is did untold amounts of damage. Houses, trees, and trailer houses were destroyed. They finally got the road through that valley opened up all the way today.
When we first came out after the storm, Keevin and I went down to check on the lady that lives at the end of our lane. She is in her 70's and lives alone. We had to climb over downed trees to get down to her house. she was not home, as she had been to another town with her daughter. I am so glad, because it had flipped her propane tank and it was leaking.
The Army is going to let my oldest, Clay, come home for 19 days to help us get stuff cleaned up around here. So, there was something good out of this whole mess. I will at least get to see him for a little while.
We are all sore and tired, but feeling a little bit better today than were were 2 days ago!
Thank you to all of you for your thoughts and prayers. It is all very much appreciated.
