Anniversary

Hard to believe it's been nearly two years since I've written a post here.  It hasn't been from lack of Deltaville fodder, just a lack of time for sitting and writing.  But today I wanted to take a moment to celebrate an anniversary.

Ten years ago tonight, an F2 tornado touched down in Deltaville from Porpoise Cove Rd across Rt.33 down Jackson Farm Lane and across our little Jackson Acres community.  And I bet now you're questioning my choice of "celebrate".  Despite all the destruction the storm left in its path, not one person in Deltaville died. Not one person was missing. Not one person received an injury more severe than scrapes and scratches.  The same goes for pets. 

And in the days and weeks following the storm, the community came together. Those who were unaffected showed up and offered aid to those who were affected. Neighbors helped neighbors, people in nearby communities offered help to Deltaville.  

And that, Ladies and Gentlemen, is something to celebrate.

We've all had a doozy of a year.  

Between riots, injustices, politics and pandemics, it seems like people are quicker to point a finger than to offer a hand these days.  Despite that, I'm confident that when the chips are down, your neighbors (whether actual physical neighbors or not) will have your back.  

So instead of mourning the loss of property and the landscape, I'm going to choose to celebrate the miracles that happened 10 years ago.

God Bless Deltaville.

Here are the original posts about the tornado:

This is Not a Test
Miracle Monday
The Bright Side
Our House Not So Very Fine
Good Friday

Three Years

Today marks 3 years since the tornado went through Deltaville. 

 A boat in the middle of a field

 Telephone pole sheared off at the bottom

 This pine tree was literally twisted by the twister

 The tennis courts

 My dad demonstrating just how large that root ball is

The area where our shed used to be.

No, the tornado didn't dump junk in the yard, 

that was in the shed.

Note the neighbor's vehicle with the large hole in the windshield

I believe that was from our paddle boat being thrown into it.

 Zoar Baptist Church with a large bite out of the middle

 A house that was tossed into the creek

 Removing the large oak trees off of our house

 House behind us

the pool

There was a lot of destruction, but there was no loss of life.

No one was even injured-

not even the various pets that were sucked out of homes 

or buried under debris.

Things changed though, and that's the hardest to deal with (for me).

I'd rather Deltaville stay the same as it was in the late 70's and 80's.

Instead it just seems to keep changing and growing and 

getting too big for the britches I'd prefer it wear.

A "funny" coincidence- delta Δ  is the mathematical symbol for change.

You can read about the tornado on these posts:

This is Not a Test!

Miracle Monday

The Bright Side

Our House- Not So Very Fine

The More Things Change

Miracle Monday- Rita

Before and After

Remnants

Remnants 2

The First Deltaville Tornado

Remnants 2

While getting ready to kayak, 

Big E broke the ladder and fell into the water waded into the shallow water.  

He stumbled upon an odd object that turned out to be a piece of metal siding. 

 Another remnant of the tornado.

I had him pull it out
(because I wanted to photograph it for this blog we don't needs any kids or dogs getting cut on it).

As it often does, nature had already started taking over.

Remnants

The last time I was in Deltaville, 

I took some time to walk through the plowed field just to see what, if anything, was there.

Among the tall grass I found:

Someone's crab steamer

and someone's basketball.

Both remnants of the tornado that touched down in our little town 2 years ago.
The rebuilding process is still ongoing.
The Baptist church as a new steeple
and most of the homes have been rebuilt
(some much larger than they were originally- and thus removing the quaint feel of Jackson Acres).
The trees, of course, will never be replaced in my lifetime, and that hurts the most.
But my feelings of hurt and devastation can not compare with
what those in Oklahoma must be feeling.

My thoughts and prayers go out to those affected by Mother Nature.

 

The Anniversary

One year ago today, Deltaville was hit by an F2 tornado that ripped through churches, trees and homes.  I've always been moved by the news footage of the aftermath of these fierce storms.  But until you live it yourself, you don't quite understand the toll something like this takes on the people involved.  Houses that you've been looking at for your entire 36+ years of existence destroyed.  Trees that you've played under, laid under and climbed twisted and snapped like twigs.  The trees are the worst part for me.  You can't just go buy another 100 year old oak tree and stick it back in the ground.  It's gone, and there won't be another close to it in my lifetime, nor my kids' lifetime. 

Deltaville was blessed that day as there were no casualties, no fatalities, nothing other than minor cuts and abrasions.  Today, whether you've been the victim of a severe weather event or not, take a moment to offer a prayer to those who have been.  To those towns that weren't lucky enough to not suffer death.

  

You can read the posts about the tornado here:

This is Not a Test!

Miracle Monday

The Bright Side

Our House

The More Things Change

Miracle Monday- Rita

Before and After

The Unexpected

Sometimes a twister comes along, carries you to a place over the rainbow and drops a house on someone's sister.



And sometimes a twister comes along and plants a watermelon seed in your otherwise barren yard.

And if a watermelon growing in your yard wasn't unexpected enough.

A yellow watermelon is certainly a most unexpected surprise.

And it was ripe and very sweet.

And with it came some seriously sweet memories of an epic watermelon fight of my youth.





Updates

I have returned from my annual 4th of July trip to Deltaville. 

 I have not yet uploaded the photos I took of the progress of repairing the tornado damage in the community, nor have I uploaded the photos and video of the Heritage Day Parade and festivities. 

I promise tonight I will do both. 

In between packing up my things to move into the new place in a week and a half. 

 Hopefully. 

Before and After



Before- about 3 years ago

After- May 6, 2011



Before- Labor Day Weekend 2010



After- May 6, 2011



 Before About 3 years ago (look at shoreline)

 

After- May 6, 2011



Before- Labor Day Weekend 2010

After- May 6, 2011

Phoenix...er..Osprey Rising

While there aren't any ashes from which the legendary Phoenix can rise, there is a lot of rubble.  And from that rubble a pair of osprey appeared. 

Perched on our neighbor's dead tree is the beginning of a nest.

Looking up at the nest you can see various building materials

(I'm talking actual human building materials like tar paper, a piece of tin roof, insulation...).

They've been dubbed Leroy and Helen.

Might seem like odd names for a pair of osprey, but those were the names of my great aunt and great uncle Memom and the legendary Pepop.

Since the osprey nested in a tree located on what used to be Pepop's and Memom's property, and since Pepop was such a huge nature lover (he was once the Superintendent of Patapsco state Park in Maryland) I felt the new monikers were fitting.

And if old language lessons hold true, Le Roy means "The King" and I'd say Leroy certainly looks like he is viewing his kingdom from atop his tree.

And of course there's the whole Helen of Troy "the face that launched a thousand ships" analogy.

So despite the loss of so many old trees, there was one good thing that came from it. 

I spent most of my time looking over at the nest and wandering over to take photos of the new neighbors.

Hearing the telltale cry of the osprey made me smile.

And I enjoyed watching the pair continue to bring various pieces of sticks, branches and building material to add to their modest abode. 

So, yes, bad things happen like devastating tornadoes, but there are good things that happen as a result. 

To read about the Legendary Pepop go here.