Fourteen years (and a day) a blogger

Yesterday marked the fourteenth anniversary of my first blog post. I allowed myself to slack off posting over the last few...well, years, but since March 7 of this year I have been making an effort to post at least once a day. Not counting this entry, I have seventy-one posts for 2018 so far - more than any full year since 2012, one more than 2016, 2015, and 2014 combined, and equal to 2015, 2014, and 2013 combined. (I will be reflecting on this milestone later.)

As I pointed out yesterday, today is the Pennsylvania midterm Primary election. After work today my mom and I planned to go to the polling place at the football stadium clubhouse down the street. As we were about to step out, I once again noted that it looked like rain, and maybe she should take a raincoat. Suddenly the storm hit: torrential rain and fierce winds, strong enough to blow out my temporary patch on the broken window (we should have an estimate on its repair later this week) and send the large curtains in the front room whipping around. I repatched the window while the storm was hitting - an insanely stupid thing to do. The fix held - but the window turned out to be just a small part of the problem.

After the worst of the storm had passed, I stepped out to assess the damage.

Our front yard was once again littered with shingles. So was our back yard - only these were different: gray with brown and white speckles, and in better overall condition. Where did these come from?

A few of them, at least, came from our roof. Another thing for the insurance company. This is shaping up to be a hell of a spring and summer.

Lilac 1 sustained some damage. One of the trunks snapped, and fell over. I will need to chop up the damaged part and remove it. I wonder if anyone has a use for lilac wood? 

Part of the magnolia down the street appears to have come down. The branch on the ground is the one I photographed from below, looking up.

But that's not the worst of it. After we voted, we took a drive around town. Trees, fences, and streetlights have been knocked down all over Nanticoke, including a very old and very large tree in Patriot Square. Flagpoles have been bent over. The spectator benches at the Little League field were tossed into center field. Shingles and soffits have been loosened everywhere.

Was this a tornado? Lots of people saw the clouds turn green and begin churning before the storm hit. Or could this have been a straight-line wind? Nanticoke certainly didn't get the worst of it. Power has been knocked out throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania, and at least one person was killed when a tree fell on a car.

On another note: the irises are about to bloom. Maybe tomorrow, maybe the next day.