16 | August | 2012 | small house/BIG GARDEN

Today’s submission dates back to June 2008, when a freak storm ripped through our former neighborhood with devastating results:

A tree through the window!!?!! SO wrong!! 🙄

This photo was taken on the clear and beautiful morning after the previous night’s 10pm chaos!

See the ornamental porch peeking out beneath the tree? Technically it wasn’t designed for “hanging out” but you can imagine how a spot slightly diagonal to her bedroom window appealed to Maggie and her teenage friends ➡ in the warm months, she’d climb over the gap (and railing) with deckchairs/cds/magazines and whoever happened to be visiting: instant summer fun. 🙂 I realize most parents would’ve put the kabosh on such things, but I LOVED hearing kid sounds trickle down whenever I’d sit on the “real” porch, below…..but I digress!

When I tell you how FAST this storm roared through, believe me!!! Every tree on the street went from 0 to 60 in an instant and the wind was so LOUD! I ran into Mag’s room yelling “Get the chairs!! they’ll launch like missiles” HA! Wrong missiles to worry about!

Surveying the damage! Immediately after the storm, June 2008

The storm we experienced is known as a microburst, a column of sinking air that lasts only a few seconds but produces dangerous winds at the surface. They often do tornado-like damage at ground level and can knock planes from the sky at upper elevations.

Afterwards, what scared us most was the sequence of events. We barely struggled the porch furniture through the window (and backed away!!) before the tree sailed 4ft into the room….still attached to what you see outside!!!!!

They say timing is everything…what if we’d gotten it wrong?!

Until next time….