Wicked Weather

Everyone has something to say about the weather these days. With earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding, and tornadoes seemingly rampant, wicked weather has recently touched many of us. I know that a few weeks ago, I was fussing about the gloomy view from my window. If I only knew! It would be just weeks later that my heart broke for those in Joplin...only to be followed a few days later by heartbreak on my own playground. Literally. On May 25, around 11:30 p.m., tornadoes swept across the region and touched down in the Arkansas towns of Denning, Etna, Clarksville, Strawberry, and Lamar. I teach in Lamar. We did not have school on May 26, as due to destruction, 4 fatalities, and the fact that there was no electricity in the county. Some sobering views of the aftermath...

Pretty heart-wrenching, eh?

Then when hubby and I went to the Chateau, we were delayed driving up the mountain because the road had fallen off of the side of the cliff. Road crews had everyone driving one lane highway so that they could re-build the road. It was insane! When we arrived, we saw roads submerged under water. As the days passed, we could see the yellow lines beginning to become visible through the water covering the street...yes, it was that deep! On our second day in Branson, we were going back to the Chateau for a nap, and happened to see that the floodgates had been opened and water was shooting out. There were rainbows under us as we crossed over the bridge! That. Was. Amazing! We drove down to see where the water was being released to...and there was the flood damage. You could see the trees down along the path where water must have rushed through when it had nowhere else to go....

And in our own back yard...we were lucky.