the storms... they are a changin'

I have never feared a storm. In fact, I enjoy them overall-if I'm indoors that is. There is a humbling sense of awe when a storm shows up. I love thunder & lightening. I light candles in ritualistic form, as if to honor the forces of nature that override the human ego. This also works out well when the power goes out, no scrambling for candles or matches. Although, in our home, lighting candles is the usual. Not just something we do in an emergency or on a 'special' occasion.

Well, our recent storms have made national news. The most intense day of wind and rain had me frozen & stalled many times during the day as itsy-bitsy bits of fear surfaced in myself, which is not my common response to storms. It was the most intense storm I have experienced since living in Sacramento. We lost a fence, but that is nothing. A tree destroyed a home in Sacramento that had a sterile environment for a toddler who had just survived a bone marrow transplant. The family was in panic over the wellbeing of their child, with their lives literally torn in half. Our fence blew over. The two experiences seem lifetimes apart.

This photo was taken around the block. Many trees were destroyed in our neighbourhood. Old trees were completely uprooted, finding their next life as firewood. Our fence blew over. Trees have two ways to fall. Away from something, or into something. Is it a flip of the coin?

As I experienced this storm, I quietly reminded myself that this is the first of many storms and weather patterns that will be a part of our lives due to the climate change. The storms will be more severe. Not just in other parts of the world as we have already witnessed, but right here. So, hold on to your hats ya'll.