Storm Watch !

~Cedar Pond was peaceful and Christmas card pretty today.~

~BUT....the weather stations are sending out dire warnings and predictions of a monster storm.The sheep seem unconcerned.But the forecast is for sustained winds of 40 to 50 miles per hour with gusts of up to 80 miles per hour for our little region of the Pacific Northwest. ~Goth the Destroyer, with his cool mask, is only concerned he get his share of soda crackers. But I am very concerned. I am even a little fearful. Talk about Deja-vu, storm 2006, which I was NOT going to talk about anymore. These are the conditions that led up to our tarp covered and tree toppled demise 2 years ago, except that now there are ice laden trees to topple..... ~The ducks are so happy to run free from their pen in the morning. Snow and ice...well, they do fine even if they do skid on the ice covered pond.They do spend a lot of time sitting on their delicate feet to keep them warm and prevent frost bite. They are not worried, I keep them well fed and protected from predators. ~The call ducks are so pretty as they fly into the pond, or onto the ice. They often circle the house in flight and I feel so special when they fly beside me as I carry the bucket of food to their pen for the nightly feed and lock up. ~Thorin and Bombadil too, are not worried. They are competing with each other here for the soda cracker treats. They know they will get their alfalfa and they also have ........

~A fine shelter for goats.You can see Thorin peeking out from the upper story of the goat house and Bombadil is below, at the hay feeder.~

~The Labs are not concerned at all. They are the perfectly equipped for cold , wet weather. They are really concerned with who will get the tennis ball I am about to throw to them. The weather is of no concern. They know the dog food will be dished out in the morning as usual, and they will sleep by the wood stove in the evening. No worries or cares, except...who will get the tennis ball first ?

~Black Bart is not concerned about the weather. He has a fine wool coat to keep him warm. He too knows the alfalfa will be served up every day. He plays with the other young sheep in the crisp weather. ~

~This is my view to a dark day, but a pretty day outside. The wood stove is keeping us warm. The pantry and fridge are filled with good things to eat and drink. But we did cancel our family Christmas party and Hubby's special event because of the very, very bad road conditions and the family party tomorrow night would be in the midst of a raging wind storm that would have precious people going home through forests that will most likely be dropping trees on the roads and highways. Dodging trees on icy roads with power outages..no, a party can be re- scheduled , and so it will be. ~Poor Hubby is stuck trying to help me not be afraid of the remaining trees hanging over and around us. I have a book on tape, and batteries to listen to it when the power goes out. I am sure the power will go out. We always lose power in the storms. So, I might not be blogging for awhile because we will shut down our computer before the storm hits. ~"Praise the Lord from the earth, Sea monsters and all deeps; Fire and hail, snow and clouds; Stormy wind , fulfilling His word; Mountains and all hills; Fruit trees and all cedars; Beasts and all cattle; Creeping things and winged fowl; Kings of the earth and all peoples;" Psalm 148:7-11

Storm 2006:Friendship,Gift From the Heart

~Storm of 2006~~This was the front of our Christmas cards that winter. I think it was very considerate of the tree removal company to decorate their truck for me. The tree service came out the next day after the storm and after surveying the damage, set on a time the NEXT day to remove the tree. We were very grateful to be so high on the list, as all tree removal companies in the Pacific Northwest were overworked and had long, long waiting lists of people needing their services. I will tell you, Mac's Tree Service of Yelm, WA is the greatest, and amazingly did not break the skylight windows while removing the 2 trees stuck in, around and outside the windows.

~The first morning after the storm , Hubby's younger brother came over with the biggest blue tarp I had ever seen this side of a circus tent! He actually owned this tarp. In the still very windy and wet and cold weather, he and Hubby wired that tarp over the roof, and I mean, it covered the roof, and even the tree on the roof. This really saved our home and contents, because it pretty much stormed on and off for months after . I could not watch them on the roof, for worry about their safety! Thank-you David, very much!( picture above is of Hubby's brother David and his wife Margie with our granddaughters ) ~Here below is Dirt and Lanny, see It's The Dirt . Dirt and Lanny were over right away with their own personal work crew. I cannot begin to tell you how much work and self-sacrifice was evidenced by this family. Although they did not have any trees on their home, they had numerous trees down all around their home. Plus, this was Christmas time. We were supposed to be in the thick of Christmas shopping and buying and baking ( you can bake even without power ). And hey, they had a generator so could have even been watching the Christmas specials on T.V. But nope, they came over with a chain saw, work gloves, and worked and worked until all the trees fallen all over our property were cut up and the big chunks of wood were hauled ( by them ) to a spot by the garage. We also had an enormous bon-fire burning the debris."A friend is someone who is there for you when he'd rather be anywhere else." Len Wein

~Dirt and Lanny's daughter Bet, Paddle In The Pond . Bet works as hard, or harder than many young men now a days. She too was hauling debris, huge branches, and worked non-stop til the job was done." It is not so much our friends' help that helps us as the confident knowledge that they WILL help us." Epicures

~Here is Dirt and Lanny's other daughter, Anna Colleen, Terriers and Tabbies.

Anna hauled a lot of tree parts, wood, and debris also. You cannot ever put a price on the value of friends like these. The word 'priceless' is pretty much overused I think and somehow that negates the true value of the word...PRICELESS !

~Our son-in-law Tom, A.Joy At Home, came over with his chain saw and work gloves, and immediately began working. He and our daughter and grand kids had just the night of the raging storm, moved out of the tent they were living in( and had lived in for months) into the not quite finished new home being built on their property because the storm was wreaking havoc on their tent / home. This was literally in the nick of time because their tent was destroyed and they would have been injured or worse had they toughed it out in the tent. But here was Tom, helping us when there was a great deal to do at their home, and storm damage to clean up. ~"May God give you....for every storm a rainbow, for every tear a smile, for every care a promise and a blessing in each trial. For every problem life sends, a faithful friend to share, for every sigh a sweet song and an answer for each prayer." Irish Blessing God gave us so much that year, and into the next, these friends and family have been there in very difficult times and our family and friends have been so kind as to surround us with prayers and encouragement. These are the TRUE GIFTS of GOD, and because of His Son, these people are who and what they are.....kind, forgiving, self sacrificing..... ~Our home today, in the snow. Look, no holes in the roof !We do still have a lot of landscaping to re-do. We had hundreds of Hostas and our landscaping was designed for shade, now we have full sun all around our home. New plants and trees, new buildings,new adventures in life. Thank-you dear friends and family and the many who brought us containers of water and meals and encouragement and prayers !

~Consider it all joy , my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance." James 1:2 and " Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with Whom there is no variation, or shifting shadow. ."James 1:17

Storm 2006: Part II,The Murmur Of The Dove

~The night of the storm was terrifying. I was in the house alone when the first tree fell on the house, and Hubby was home with me as we sat in the living room, the house warmed by our woodstove and the only light was candlelight. The power was out and the storm was raging. I now know what people are talking about when they say the hurricane / storm sounded like a freight train, because that is exactly what it sounded like all night and into the early morning.A freight train coming at the big picture window.When the biggest tree fell onto the house I was literally paralyzed with fear. We could not possibly see how the house could still be standing with that monster hitting hard. The whole house shook and the boom when the tree hit was loud.Hubby grabbed my hand and commanded me to get up off the floor( where I had fallen) and follow him. ~This beautiful scrimshaw is a Christmas ornament I keep out all year. We received it in a family reunion/ Christmas party a few days before the storm. Our cousin Terry Christian is a world renowned scrimshaw artist and this was a coveted ornament in the gift exchange. Check out Terry's work at Scrim Gallery. ~We grabbed flashlights and went upstairs fully expecting to see the whole second floor collapsed. Miraculously it hadn't. We could see the branches through the ceiling, and Hubby climbed into the attic and inspected the damage. There was a lot of tree poking through the roof, and branches made it hard for him to fully inspect, especially in the dark. But Hubby declared the house sound enough for us to stay in it, and then in the brief lulls before the winds would pick up he gathered all the tarps we owned and began trying to cover the many holes. ~We also had to inspect the dove cote to see if there were any doves surviving the damage both trees had caused. There was pretty much nothing worth salvaging in my first beautiful dovecote. The wood and wire and perches and nest baskets were crushed , and tangled or buried in tree debris. But...the doves were perching quietly in , around, and amidst the wreckage. Hubby , with flashlight, began climbing through the piled destruction and gathering the doves, one by one. We counted them as we placed them in a bird cage. There was one missing. Wow, all that damage, and we lost only one dove. ~We had to interrupt our dove rescue several times because the winds would start up again and we could hear BIG trees falling around us, branches whipping by our heads, and we were searching through the unstable debris of the two large trees that fell on our house, so that was not too safe either. Hubby kept trying to stay outside and look for the doves, but I was not willing to lose him for a dove.

~This is an ornament Hubby's brother and his wife gave us. I keep it out all year too.~

~The next morning, at the faintest bit of light, we went outside to survey the damage. We could barely walk anywhere. There were huge trees down everywhere. As I looked at the scene before me I could not possibly imagine us ever being able to repair the house and reclaim our property.Then in a rhododendron bush, right there by our walkway, was the missing dove. Just peacefully perched there, safe and unharmed. She allowed me to pick her up..and take her to safety."Come gracious Spirit, heavn'ly Dove, with light and comfort from above; be Thou our Guardian, Thou our guide, O'er every thought and step preside." Throughout the rest of the many storms we had, as my fears would shake me, I could hear the doves outside in their temporary cages, from inside the house. They would murmur and coo.....all night. And this comforted me.

~Gracious Spirit~ "Gracious Spirit, Dove Divine, Let thy light within me shine, All my guilty fears remove,Fill me full of Heaven and love. Let me never from Thee stray, keep me in the narrow way Fill my soul with joy divine, Keep me Lord forever Thine. Speak Thy pardoning grace to me, Set the burdened sinner free Lead me to the Lamb of God, wash me in His precious blood. Life and peace to me impart,seal salvation in my heart Breathe thyself into my breast, earnest of immortal rest." by John Stocker ~My next post will be about special people who were there to help us above and beyond anything we expected.And the final post on the storm. ~