WELL... AT LEAST IT'S NOT OIL !!

I just received a "Breaking News" alert on my computer, that the officials at British Petroleum have upgraded the impact of the oil damage in the Gulf of Mexico from "very modest" to "Environmental Catastrophe".

Gosh. Never saw that coming. RIGHT !!!

After over a month of oil pouring into the Gulf, I'm afraid we have no idea of the magnitude of the damages being done -- & will be done -- to our ocean, beaches, environment & wildlife. This is just one example of how man can -- & will -- destroy planet Earth. It will happen.

Not to trivialize the oil disaster, but I had my own series of "disasters" yesterday at my home ... one intentional & the other provided by Mother Nature.

The first one -- my doing -- was having my front yard torn up to replace the H2O line to the house. I've had "portions" of the line repaired previously, due to leaks. The last time a segment was replaced/repaired, the plumber & I agreed that the "next time" it would be best to replace the entire line. Yesterday was that time.

Ed -- my plumber -- started at the house & worked back towards the road. One good thing about all the digging, two tree stumps got removed in the process. Better than waiting for the termites to finish off the job.

The dirty work is done by Butch. He installed the new shut-off valve next to the house.

There was quite a lengthy ditch when all the digging was complete. Along with the two stumps, there were lots of bamboo roots to cut out as well. The only "find" in all the digging, was an old soda pop bottle. [I'd previously called "dibs" on any skulls or bones we might find. No luck.]

Well, now I have a new H2O line to the house, as well as a check book with a significant dent in it. Along with truck repairs & larger than expected Dental work this year, these are the "unplanned" expenses which arrive to screw-up the budget for the year.

Since the A.M. was dedicated to the front yard work, the afternoon started with cleaning up the John Deere mower & cleaning myself as well. A trip to "Wally World" was then in order, to get some grocery supplies, before the Memorial Day shoppers descended on the place.

I noticed driving to Lonoke, Arkansas, there were clouds to the North that had "potential" for some afternoon "Summer showers". [I know it is not officially Summer, but we have had high humidity & temperatures approaching the 90's for the past 10 days or so. It FEELS like Summer time already.]

Having done my damage in the store, I left there to find the "potential" clouds were now in the West -- the direction home for me on I-40 -- & were thick, dark & full of rain. Remembering that two of my cats -- THE WOBBLER & Nibblets -- were outside when I left home, I was anxious to get back there.

What I found arriving home, was the second disaster of the day ... the unplanned one by Mother Nature. The yard was littered with sticks & leaf clusters, indicting a major wind event had taken place in my absence.

NOTE: The two girls were the first priority & were found waiting for me in the storage building, nice & dry, wanting me to take them back to the house. Praise the Lord.

I found a total of three trees broken & laying on the ground during my property "inspection". Additionally, there were many tree branches on the ground & several sections of bamboo which will need to be cut & removed from their groves.

The biggest tree to suffer damage was a Bradford Pear, a species known for it's brittle structure in a strong wind. This particular tree had split several years ago on the opposite side of yesterday's damage. Even as it was still raining, I made an effort with the loppers to cut away sections of the Bradford Pear which were laying in a Leland Cypress next to it. The Cypress tree also has major damage to it, due to the falling neighbor.

SECOND NOTE: There is a lot of literature being written by gardening experts on the negatives of Bradford Pears as a landscape item. Although I have several LARGE Bradford's on my land -- including one on the North side of my house which "ate" my flag pole due to it's world record size -- I agree & would never add any "replacement" Bradford Pears to my land. They are a short-lived tree, which can be disfigured in a strong wind, such as was experienced yesterday.

Now, the clean-up begins for me. THIS would have been a good time for my Mother to visit, since she is so good at "stick picking". There are plenty to collect in the next few days, over & above the three fallen trees needing attention.

At least it is not oil & no "environmental catastrophes" took place, other than some (correctable) landscape & planting issues. If only BP -- & the Gulf Coast -- had it so easy.