Every Independence Day, our family shoots off fireworks to celebrate. This year, we did so the night of the third, and Alice got a few brilliant pictures to capture the fun!





⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

   That night however, we were roused by a severe thunderstorm that fell upon us out of nowhere. We spent a short time in the basement, listening when the wind suddenly picked up, whistling in the chimney. Once it had passed, we all flocked upstairs to discover a soaked kitchen and dining room, as well as broken glass thanks to an open window in the kitchen. Worse, we lost three massive trees, one of which crushed our brand-new trampoline, and several large windbreaks were thrown and seriously broken. Chicken feeders were blown all over the yard, barrels and buckets flew, and chickens escaped from broken chicken tractors (leaving plenty of work for us in the morning).






   This was not our first storm experience, but it left more damage in a couple of minutes than we've ever had to deal with. Cleaning up is taking time, but we are so grateful - because it could have been so much worse!

   This 4th of July has been one to remember.