Poor Irises

Every June, I love the purple irises that bloom on my front corner. I wish I could take credit for them, but the previous homeowners are the ones who planted them. They are in full bloom for about a week or two at the most, so they are always short-lived, but really beautiful while they are here.

Last Saturday, I decided to take some pictures of them in full bloom because they are my favorite part of the front garden and they don't last long. (Just before I took this picture, some people stopped in their car and asked me about the irises. All those purple blooms make quite a show on my front corner.)

Well, I am glad I have some photos to remember them by, because the poor irises were destroyed by a horrific wind storm the next day. On Sunday, the kids and I huddled in the basement while tornado sirens went off. We were sure it was a tornado because of the force of the winds, but the radio people tell us it was just a bad wind storm. Bad, yes - after the storm we went driving around to see the damage and there was a lot to see. Many, many trees - BIG trees - were ripped out of the ground, their roots exposed. Power lines were tangled in the trees, and many of the power poles were lying on the ground, too. We saw one house that was cut in half by a big tree falling on its roof, and the whole house was sitting about 6 inches off its foundation.

Luckily, the worst damage we had was the loss of my pretty, purple irises (you can see all the sad, bald stems). We did go without power for about 24 hours, and the kids' school was cancelled on Monday, but other than that we weren't affected by the storm. I know of one family that is now living in a camper while they figure out how to rebuild their house.

I guess all those times we've prayed that "no harmer accident would befall us" really worked!