… and rained. 
The storms came in with fierce determination, one after the other, rushing through like runaway trains. High winds and a LOT of rain. I still have not bought a new rain gauge but every shower was a deluge.
I was inside when I heard a loud crack of lightning. And down came half the old elm tree, smack into the little walnut tree, splitting that young tree in half as well.
Poor old tree. And poor young tree. What a mess.
Even in the evening light I could feel the lack of shade from the elm. The heat will now be hotter.
Now a little peek at the udder.
Lots of rain. A feast or a famine. My tomatoes are beaten up and the rosemary is drowning but the fields and the hay are growing again so that is a good thing. I hope you have a lovely day.
Love celi
Weather Forecast: Hot but hopefully the storms have finished.
Thursday 06/15 20% / 0 in
Some clouds in the morning will give way to mainly sunny skies for the afternoon. High 92F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.
Thursday Night 06/15 20% / 0 in
Mainly clear early, then a few clouds later on. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 68F. Winds light and variable.
it’s always a mixed blessing , isn’t it?
Yes – so it is.. c
Shame about the trees – the cows don’t seem to mind 🙂
The cows were loving the rain – when it storms they stand very still to wait it out, almost mid stride – the moment the rain stops off they go again to wherever they were going. Interesting really. c
My radar app shows all warnings from around the country, and there were plenty of them from your area last night. I had wondered how you were faring. So sorry about the trees and tomatoes. Inches and inches of rain aborted a fig crop I’d been looking forward to — hope your crop recovers nicely.
I don’t have a radio and my weather station just said chance of thunderstorms – I did not hear one warning -so really i was not concerned at all
Glad it didn’t hit the house. You will miss the shade that is for sure. Alex does look like she is bagging up to me – maybe Carlos did the deed after all.
We only really lost half of it. These Dutch Elms come down in pieces. The other elm (both are rotton in the core) is much closer to the house, we might have some trouble when that decides to lose the top half – but (as well as the cost which is prohibitive) the one by the house is ALL my shade so I hate to have it cut down. Yes – maybe Carlos is breeding after all but still no sure signs.. c
Poor trees, after all that effort to grow, give shade and be beautiful. I definitely think Miss Alex is bred, that udder is clearly bigger…
That tree would have been over a hundred too.. they all planted Dutch Elms in those days for fast shade.. c
So sad to lose any tree, but particularly an elm. And the little walnut, sad. I do agree with everyone, it looks to me like things are happening in Alex’s udder!
I hope so – she spent the morning in the barn watching me which was unusual for her.. c
You always have the most beautiful photographs. Every post, full of beautiful images. I especially loved the drops pouring off the roof. Gorgeous. 🙂
Yes i really liked that one too – just luck of course but it has a story in it.. c
You are my hero, Cecilia; your strength is contagious! I have been sick for a couple of months so have lost the blogplot – getting back to normal now and beginning to read yours and others’ posts. You exemplify tenacity and the most beautiful kindness to humans and animals. Thank you.
Glad you are feeling better! Being sick for a prolonged period is no fun! Happy Thursday!
Welcome back JM! So glad to hear you are on the mend. Hope your illness is gone for good and no lasting effects.
You poor old thing ending up in the wards. The irony did not escape me. Glad you are in recovery now – be kind to yourself – give yourself rest days – you are a very important person.. c
Your gardens look wonderful…..soggy but wonderful! We are beginning to get a tomato every few days. Very exciting! 🙂
Oh you lucky thing – I wish I was!! Usually we are about a fortnight behind you so cross fingers.. c
Its kind of terrifying to see how much damage nature can do to itself.
You are so right Lise – I never thought of it that way.. c
I am so sorry about your trees and the over abundance of rain. Your storms are so much more intense than here in CT.
I do hope Alex gives you a new little surprise soon.
I hope she surprises me soon but not on one of these really hot days – hopefully on a cooler day.. c
Oh dear…it never rains unless it pours! Is it possible that tree split in two halves could ever grow again. You were all safe and so were animals which is the main concern.
It was a 6 year old black walnut and it is split right down to the ground. I cannot see it surviving. And of course the ground is littered with nests – not a good day for the birds either.. c
It will be hard to do the summer without those trees and getting another to grow in their place will take years. All that with one crack of lightning. ;( I’m so sorry.
This is the way of the world – I will replant.. again and again and again it seems.. c
You are like a weed and just keep coming back no matter what. 🙂
I am so sorry about your trees. The pussycats will miss them too. And the gardens. I hope for drying sunny days to come.
Sunny days are very hot now ..
Lots of storms in Minnesota, too, with many trees down. It’s never easy losing trees.
Oh I am sorry – it is the way of trees isn’t it – the gum trees are the worst at home in NZ, they get very tall then fall over.. c
We might have to look for you in the boot of the car for shade! Hate to read about the trees coming down.
Speaking of cars it has fallen into the circular drive where Johns truck is usually parked so it could have been even more inconvenient..
aie yie yie……poor trees indeed. What a shame to lose a walnut tree and the shade from an elm tree…
Yes, i am sad about the walnut the most – it was growing to be a beautiful tree and had a great crop of walnuts.. c
Shoot! That is terrible about the tree!
I know -bad luck.. c
Getting the right amount of rain is tricky… And I gate losingbtrees, shade. What a bugger 😕
Yes, it will be quite the clean up too – sigh – and no man with a chainsaw until Sunday.. c
That’s sad loosing your trees.
I know – and more down on the West side too .. c
We could so use some of the wet, but you can keep the elm-splitting fireworks.
I really sympathise with the loss of your nice shady Elm. We recently lost a good shade tree too. xx
Ah, Mother can be a harsh mam at times. Hopefully the sprouts will survive and the trees catch no disease.
Oh dear. So sorry about the tree. Downed trees break my heart, but so glad that crack in the night didn’t presage the flattening of your house.
Those clouds look so dark and what a shame about your trees.
Yes, do,. We need you to:
“replant.. again and again and again ”
(Reminds me of a story I heard about hope vs trouble
–in this case, spiritual troubles. . . It seems
That a visitor to a remote monastery once asked
“What do you do all day here,?” An old monk replied
Without hesitation. ” We fall down. Then we get up.
Then we fall down again.
And again get up.
And we keep on getting up .”)
Will the downed half find new purpose as firewood or compost?
All cut up for firewood. The walnut we cannot bear to cut down so we have strapped it together – it is a vain hope – it will never survive -but we just could not bear to finish it off..
We had a mimosa split during a storm when I was little. My dad tied it back together. It meant the world to me. Have you read The Hidden Life of Trees? I plan to start it soon and thought you might like it.
Gosh it rained alright .. such a shame about the old tree Celi