Ice in '07 and Tornadoes in '08

Just a year ago, our world ground to a brief halt thanks to an ice storm that severely damaged our trees, kept most homes in SW Missouri without power for days on end (some up to 2 weeks!), and in general cost us weeks of cleanup time. Yet, we were one of the few that kept power (except for a few hours on a couple of days) and, generally count ourselves lucky that it wasn't any worse. And with camera in hand I wandered out, to find unusual beauty in the aftermath....nature is so humbling...brutal and beautiful all at once.

And just a few days ago, our area was ravaged by severe thunderstorms with tornadoes ripping across the Ozarks, killing at least 2 people, and straightline winds that caused nearly as much damage. I have no photos, because we were extremely fortunate and suffered nothing worse than having some patio chairs blown around a bit. No beauty to be found, sifting through the remains of one's home blown to bits I fear.

Here's hoping the rest of our January is "normal" - I'll take the cold and the wind and a few inches of snow any day over the storms!