A bit ago, we had a bad bad storm roll in. Everyone knew about it on Friday and warned everyone with dire words and hushed tones. It was going to be a big one. And it was going to hit on Sunday evening. Be ready! Be prepared!
So we did. We made sure all the animals were fed and watered good, and we locked the sheep, goats and ponies in the big paddock so they would be in an confined area and hopefully have the sense to stay inside.
We got our water jugs filled up and we made a big crock pot of soup (in case the power went out, we’d have warm food for a few hours…) Oh yes, we made cookies and pound cake too, because, well, you just don’t know when you’ll need storm goodies. To help you pass the time!
Justin and Steve brought by a bunch of pumpkins, right before the storm! In fact, it was starting to get windy and chilly, and a bit of rain was falling. We unloaded those babies fast!
The funny thing is that while we were unloading pumpkins, another truck pulled up and it was a neighbor from down in the village and they wanted to know if we had room for a little potbelly pig! You just have to know us, it was kind of funny. We’re in the wind and rain unloading pumpkins and all the sudden someone wants to give us a pig. Well, we said, sure, and they rushed home to get him. Apparently the owner was expecting and possibly moving and this little fellow was in need of rehoming. His name was Bacon.
We only have one picture of him, it was a crazy evening and things were starting to happen fast! We put him in with Oscar for a bit, but that wasn’t working out, so we locked him in the feed room with the chickens. As you can see, the chickens were all ready for the show. All perched and waiting in their little roost area. I think its kind of funny that Bucka is on the little shelf below the ladder… he likes that better than balancing on the rungs of the ladder. Everyone else prefers the ladder.
Well, that storm came in and it was a dooooozy! Winds ripping and the rain falling, it was very very fast and hard. Jessy took a video out of Maggie’s upstairs window during part of the whole show! It was intense for a while… a good long while. Thank goodness most of the animals had the sense that God gave them and were hunkered down in the barns! Only Shadow and Cody were the goofs… At one point I saw them out in the rain, bucking and rearing and just having a hoot in the wind. I do believe they were playing. At one point I went out to the screen porch to yell at them, worried they were upset, but both stopped and came to the fence as if to say, “what Mom?” and then with a snort were back to shaking and being little boys in the rain. When it REALLY came down hard, they finally went into the barn. Enough is enough I guess.
After it passed, we went out to see the damage and flooding and to check on everyone. We were a little worried about Luna Kitty…. she had followed us out to the big barn when we took the little pig to shelter. And then in the confusion, we didn’t know where she was. I figured she probably stayed in the barn because she hates to get wet. Sure enough, we found her there, sitting in the hay with the chickens. She was very happy to see us and even more happy when we carried her back to the house so she wouldn’t have to get her feet wet.
As you can see, Shadow was drenched! They all looked like drowned rats for the most part, crazy animals. The temperatures were wildly off kilter… it was 70 degrees out! Unheard of for the most part for nearly the end of November! So I didn’t worry that they were wet, I knew they would dry out in no time. The Angora goats were all wet and full of leaves! Silly goats.
We had some flooding, which we expected. The rain gauge said two inches fell in an hour! That is just a bit too much water for any ground to soak up fast. But we were thankful, our rain ditch was working well, and diverting off as much water as possible. Mostly just a few low areas flooded, but it was quickly draining off as we walked around. It was all gone by morning.
It’s hard to tell, but the clouds as the storm passed were amazing. We just had the kid’s ipods with them and they are not the best photo machines in the dark. Still, it was amazing and we all stood out there and just watched as this nasty thing made its way towards Toledo. It gathered more strength on its trip because many of our friends in town were out of power for hours. And there was a lot more tree and structure damage.
Our only damage was to our courtyard fence! It cracked the posts off at the base and toppled our lovely fence over. So sad! We were thinking it was time to replace it, it had served us well, but was showing its age very quickly. The sticks were breaking down quickly and it was hard to maintain. Still, it worked great for two years an really cost us pretty much nothing! I think it is funny, though, the lion statue is just one of those resin and fake stone critters we got at a garage sale… He’s very lightweight. But he was fine, still standing. The fence was a goner!
We named the little pig Twister, since there were tornados down not too far from us and it just sounded better than Bacon. We only had him for the day, because our friend Justin said he’d love to give him a home! He loves pigs! We do too, but we just didn’t really have a good home for him, because Oscar thought he was a little snack and Ebony would not have anything to do with him. Now he has a couple other little piggie friends in Justin and Steve’s big barn and another new name… it’s Kevin. Yes, Kevin Bacon.
We were glad to get through this storm relatively unscratched… and sad for our neighbors and friends that had damage and rough times. Very sad for the people who lost their lives and homes in Illinois. This was one of the worse thunderstorm/tornado storms I’ve seen in a long time! Pays to heed the warnings… even if they are a little overstated most the time… this one was right on the money!!!
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