Storm Damage

On Wednesday afternoon, I saw the sky darken after a very hot day.  I looked off to the north and saw a storm coming so I check the radar and knew it would be here shortly.  I went outside to find the temperature had gone down about 10 degrees.  I took a video of the clouds.  The dark clouds were pushing the white puffy ones away.  "Isn't this the way a tornado begins?" I said to my husband.  A few minutes later the rain began; horizontally and in sheets.  This was going to be a real whopper with the winds whipping the trees.  

We drove around afterward to find the damage.  Limbs and branches and leaves were down everywhere.  I guess I know what I'm doing for work tomorrow.  Major stick run.  A stick run is when we grounds sisters get in the van and go out to find downed sticks.  It's one way to keep them out of the way of the lawn mowers but also they don't look very good.

 Thursday morning we didn't have to water the flowers since the storm did that.  We began our day at 6am as usual with picking up debris.  We decided the most visable places should be where we start.  We cleaned up Main street and went around the block to the blacksmith and then Brigham Young's home. 

 After break we went to the information kiosk.  Well, some of us did.  My van got hijacked to stop at the "German house" to clean up before we got to the kiosk.  There are walnut trees here and there were so many nuts down.  It was crazy the amount that we picked up.

We were fortunate enough to have one of the girls who was an intern here last year come and help us.  Her name is Bailey and she is a worker!  We also had Elders Nelson and Pleshek who came and helped with the bigger limbs. The extra workers made so much difference in how much we were able to get accomplished.

Today we had a family stop by us at the Exodus point and help pick up walnuts.  God bless them.  I use a steel rake to gather them and then scoop them into the buckets.  

 The RV was probably the biggest piece of damage caused by the storm.  The women who were in this thing heard a loud bang and thought they were hit by lightning until a branch came through their wall and roof.  No one was injured.

 I have never seen a tree split like this because of wind.  It reminds me of pulled pork.  We still have a lot of clean up to do but with so many youth in town for the pageant, they have taken to helping clean the debris.  They bring the stuff and put it in piles at the side of the road.  Great youth and leaders!

The worst part about all this damage wasn't that we have to clean it up, it's that the temps are in the 90's.  I've been making sure that I'm drinking plenty.  I use wet handkerchiefs around my neck and forehead to help keep me cool but also to absorb the sweat.  I found out once again that I am a sweater!