Sideways

I talk about the weather often.

I can't help it. So much around me is connected to the weather. And I'm in awe of all the things that Mother Nature creates... a gorgeous rainbow, the hoot of a night owl, the crunch of dry autumn leaves under my feet, and the way a fresh winter snow softens the whole landscape under a clean blanket.But we all know that Mother Nature is not always gentle. She's not only about rainbows and owl hoots and pretty snow. She can cause some serious damage.

I hesitate to write about the rain here (again) while there are folks in Texas right now who are suffering from the longest drought they've ever known. But they always say to write about what you know... and this year rain is what I know.

Several weeks ago Mother Nature sent so much spring rain that I thought that maybe I was going to have to build an ark. Each day brought a new storm. The ground became saturated. Lakes formed all around me. I sloshed and splashed all over this farm.

Once during that soggy time there was a howling wind that shook the house all night. I heard creaks and shrieks that I'd never heard before.

The next morning I looked across the garden to a little area that I generously refer to as "the orchard." (It's not a real orchard. It's just a few struggling fruit trees that would like to think that they're an orchard.)

After that tremendous wind almost every one of them was leaning sideways.One of them had even been broken in half.So I walked out there to see what I could do for the survivors.

I used the post driver to sink some T-posts into the ground next to the sideways trees..And then I tied the trees to those posts with strips of cloth ripped from an old sheet.Not very pretty, (and definitely not very professional looking) but so far, so good. These little trees seem to be staying straight as we've transitioned into drier summer weather.

Ironically, it is raining right now as I write this... and the garden actually needs a good drink of water right now. But I wish there was a way to share this rain with the folks in Texas.