The wind whooshed into Wayne County last night as part of the cold front that will eventually erase that nasty humidity and heat. It looks like our part of town was unscathed and while I heard that torrential rain last night, I didn’t think it was all that windy; it was nothing like the howling wind you hear sometimes in the dead of Winter. Once the storm’s arrival was predicted for 7:30 p.m., I hunkered down with the computer unplugged, blinds down, battery-operated lamp and the portable fan standing by in the kitchen so I could switch off the AC when I heard the first rumble of thunder. The storm arrived right on schedule and there will be no need to water for a long time. The wild birds are ecstatic as they can bathe and drink again in my next-door neighbor’s gutters, which they often prefer to the birdbath. (Hey, whatever works!)

This morning when I opened the side door to leave on my walk, my ceramic pots and ornaments were scattered all around the front and side of the house. The garden flag must have wrapped itself at least a half-dozen times around its hanger. I was rather taken aback, but since nothing was broken, I quickly restored everything to normal, then checked the backyard and went across the street to see if there were any bare spots on the roof from missing shingles. I was pleasantly surprised to see nothing else was amiss … whew! The news reports were not so favorable for other parts of the Tri-County area though.

Man, it was murky, muggy and misty this morning and those conditions coupled with my quickie yard repair and scoping for storm damage made for an abbreviated walk. I managed two meager miles and during that short stint I saw some significant tree damage … large limbs and small branches were everywhere. Huge strips of bark had peeled right off the trunks of many of the trees! I sure hope we can soon pack away the shorts, tank tops, heat and volatile weather until 2014 and just ease into Fall going forward.

I was looking for a picture of Mother Nature to accompany this post and Google Images yielded some very interesting interpretations of her persona. I have to admit my image of Mother Nature was more along the lines of the lady in the old Chiffon Margarine commercials back in the 70s. I loved that clever commercial and I am sharing it to help you reminisce and give you a giggle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nY8kfiQzOis