RIDING THE STORM OUT

Thursday was my mom's Friday, so she was really excited when she left work.  The day wasn't as hot as it had been all week, and that made her feel better also.

When she got home though the TV was telling her about a storm about an hour North of where we live.  A bad storm. So Mom watched the weather news to make sure we were safe.  Mom is afraid of BAD storms.

Then the storm turned into a TORNADO and it hit a plant that makes windows in a town called Pella.  It picked the cars up and stacked them like little matchbox cars on top of each other.  Several people were hurt at the plant but thankfully all of them got to leave the hospital later that day.

THIS PICTURE WAS NOT TAKEN BY OUR MOM.

THEN that tornado decided to drop down and head our way.  Mom watched it get closer to a town called Ottumwa which is about 30 min. North of us.....and the television was telling peoples to go to safe places. 

Apparently, TORNADO'S like to follow the path of the river, and since we live about a mile from the river, mom was a little concerned.  THEN she got really concerned when the news lady talked about towns that were closer and closer to where we lived.

See the sky?
Mom went outside and talked to Dad who was checking it out from the back yard.  It was getting darker and darker.

THEN the sky started to get really weird looking and Mom was getting more nervous.  Our house does not have a basement but our neighbors does .........Mom didn't want to leave us, and Dad said he was staying so Mom stayed also. 

THEN we noticed cars started to stop on our highway and peoples got out with their phones taking pictures of the sky.   THAT really made mom NERVOUS.

Then it started to rain, ............the news woman said it was called a "rain wrapped tornado" and they  were dangerous .........and weird and unpredictable.      Mom thought "great!"..........ugh.

(WE can't get our rain pictures to load for some weird reason)
So she made me and Gussie go into the bathroom closet with her, except Gussie kept escaping and mom would have to run out and get him, cos he wanted to watch the storm/tornado from the windows.  Then Mom heard on the TV the TORNADO was about 5 miles from our house.  GULP!!!

Dad was in the garage watching it, Mom was chasing Gussie around the house.  Our parents are not the smartest.  I was trying my best to round everyone up and head for the safe house under our parents bed.  NO ONE WAS LISTENING TO ME!!!

It rained, and hailed, and blew winds..............then the sun came out, it hailed again, and it stopped.  It was done. WHEW we made it through our first tornado. 

EXCEPT...............remember when we lived in Keosauqua all those years.  Its where my mom still works.

The county fair was going on.  Campers, Kids, and animals.............ugh.

This is what happened to the lumber yard across the street from the fairgrounds, and the county maintenance buildings.  (not mom's pictures)

Maintenance Building.

Lumberyard.



Earlier that day, local artists from the Village of Bentonsport had visited the Galloway Barn to paint pictures of it.  It is a beautiful old barn between 150-200 years old my mom goes by everyday on her way to work.  The artists planned to go back the next day, enjoying the nice weather and scenery.

As they often say.............People plan, God laughs.

When Mom drove by it today she saw old bricks, and old lumber and a pile of memories.  Soon, it will be cleared away, and cleaned up.  Not one person was hurt in the tornado that hit the county that we live in, for that we can be thankful.

Mother Nature is both wonderful and wicked.  Humans need to remember she is always in charge.

Something she left for us after the storm, at our house.

Mags and Gussie