If a Tree Falls in the Thunderstorm...

Yesterday dinnertime, we had a severe thunderstorm. There was barely a second between the lightning and the thunder,

lots of wind and a bit of hail. Sometime in the middle of that, the flowering crabapple tree in the middle of the front yard came from together.

Last month, a couple of big branches came off, and husband put some black paint to protect the tree from losing too much sap or getting infected. The link to those photos is here.

I have called the city, asking them to remove the pieces, and put a new tree in the yard.

My neighbor and her grandkids are going to start taking the branches apart this morning.

Neither of us expect them to get very far, but it will be a novel experience for them, and amusing for us.

 

Horseshoes and Lampshade with Flowering Crabapple Blossoms

I am going to have to come up with another way of labeling my posts...

I have labeled the contents of this one, but the title is rather boring...

or maybe you think it is intriguing...

But this is what I have been editing today,

from the photos I took while I was in Woodstock.

Big Wind

We have been having heavy wind gusts

this afternoon.

The poor flowering crabapple in the front yard

has lost another couple of branches.

And the rest of it is not in very good health...



Flowering Crab Apples

The flowering crab apples, covered with ice, are fantastic gems.

Flowering Crabapple

Early in May, the buds and leaves were just forming,

 but by the middle of the month, the trees were covered with blossoms.

 Then the petals began to fall,

and turn the lawns and gardens pink

 before the wind blew all the petals away.

 

Flowering Crabapple Tree

Most of the flowers are spent,

but the sun streaming through the leaves is magical.

I especially like the shadow this former flower

casts against the leaf.

Flowering Crabapple

Flowering Crabapple

Neighbours cur down their flowering crabapple tree,

so I took some photos of the branches before they were hauled away. So much easier than a ladder...

Skywatch Friday

I think these are crabapples, although there are a LOT of them!