The Storm's Aftermath

Tuesday, Sept 28, 6:00 a.m.
I roll over sleepily in bed and inch a little closer to Jason. The gated in patio doors are open and the only thing that protects me from the morning coolness is a flimsy screen. Fall is here and with it are cool mornings. Maybe it's really not that cool, but after 40 degree Celsius summer days, 21 degrees sure feels cool. I roll over on my side and enjoy the view of our yard through an opening in the cream colored curtain. Just then I hear rain, or what sounds like rain. "That's weird,"Jason mutters beside me. In the last two years I only remember one time that it rained in the morning. Normally it only rains in the afternoon or evening.
Another storm? I wonder. The previous storm, that some labeled "micro-burst" is still fresh in my mind, although I have to admit there was nothing "micro" about it.
"I don't think that's rain Jason." I now tell him, as I listen closely. "It sounds like hundreds of leaves falling." Are the strong winds returning? I wonder. I check the trees and notice they are swaying, but only slightly. Hundreds of thousands of leaves continue to fall, pattering on the cement slab outside our bedroom. I get up and notice that within a matter of minutes, the leaves have turned into a thick carpet of green.

"This is really strange," I say again. They never just all fall like that. Our house is surrounded by tall trees who lose their leaves year-round, but never like this. It probably has something to do with the storm, I decide and think back to Saturday. The 30 minute storm on Friday afternoon made such a mess that we spent the whole day Saturday cleaning up.
With a yard that looked like this, there was a lot to do.



While Anoud collected garbage bags full of leaves and branches from the roof and gutters,

The kids got to work picking up hundreds of pear-shaped, heavy wooden seed pods.

Once the kids had collected as many an they could lift, Jayden decided the best way to carry them was on his head!

Still staring out through the patio door, I smile at the memory. I guess I'd better go see what's going on I decide. I quickly change and then head out a side door. It's not until I look up that I discover the answer.

One of the giant trees in our yard has cracked. Now that it's been several days and the leaves lost their source of life, they're all coming down at once. Looking up I once again marvel at the intensity of the storm. A micro-burst? Seriously?