The Beauty Around Us

April Fool’s Day

By Linda G. on April 3, 2023

The day started out quite beautiful.  The morning and early afternoon was sunny and warm.  The temperature at 12:45 pm was 62 degrees.  Our front porch thermometer read 67 degrees. Bob and I went for a bicycle ride in our neighborhood.

A severe thunderstorm warning was issued at 1:33 pm. The statement warned of 70 mph wind gusts, considerable tree damage, and damage likely to mobile homes, roofs and outbuildings. Written in all caps and bold typeface was the phrase “seek shelter now”. Around 2:00 pm the weather changed.  It got windy and quite dark.  Thunder and rain came.  We lost power.  The temperature dropped 15-20 degrees.

A neighbor messaged me that a pine tree in their yard had gone down. I walked over to see which tree had fallen.

While looking at the fallen tree, a few other neighbors joined me. I learned that other trees were down in the neighborhood and had knocked down power lines.  My neighbor, Sue, and I walked around the block to check out the damage.

Based on what we saw, Sue and I suspected our power would be off for a while. 

Three attempts were made to return power to our neighborhood. The first attempt was at 5:00 pm; the second attempt was at 6:15 pm; and the third attempt was at 7:00 pm. Finally the power stayed on; however, the power flickered on and off for a while afterward.

I am thankful that our power was out for only a few hours. Other communities in the area lost power for a much longer period of time. I am thankful that no one was injured from the fallen trees. We are so fortunate, too, when I consider the damage and lives lost from the tornadoes that ripped through the South and Midwest the previous day.