It Was Quite a Storm

The chyron below the Copa America last night gave a running commentary on the storm we were watching from our windows.  A tornado warning right in our neighborhood.  Flash flood warnings for all the creeks and washes surrounding our house.  The winds were rearranging our outdoor furniture with reckless abandon.  The power flickered and I collected the flashlights and TBG worried but our domicile was good shelter and the only damage we had to clean up was the layer of leaves on the patio.

In the morning, I drove to Pilates and surveyed the damage.  Some streets were untouched.  My route was ravaged.

This sad saguaro

was on the ground across of this tilted giant.

The root balls don't send enough deep tendrils to hold the tall trees in place.  This makes sense since our limited water supply rarely seeps down into the soil, but it's not much help when the winds start whirling.

Limbs the size of my thigh broke off and tilted the trees along with them.

Not all of them left the trunk completely,

although many did, leaving raw wounds behind.

There was property damage to roofs and by roofs.

Our house emerged unscathed.  The small professional mall at our corner was not so lucky.

That's evidence of real power, I think,  I can feel the wall saying NO NO NO.

Our next door neighbors lost two olive trees and a desert willow.

The lovely path between our houses was literally uprooted.

Some of their ornamental cacti suffered as well.

The UV was a victim as well.  This is what I found wedged underneath when I parked at Pilates after driving past the devastation.

It was really quite a storm.