Yikes, another wild night complete with a tornado warning – a tornado! – in Montana!!  It is a little confusing though as they announced a warning from NOAA… and a warning means an actual sighting, but no one actually SAW the tornado.  NOAA saw rotation in a thunderstorm cell.  This morning they are saying that there ACTUALLY was a tornado that touched the ground in Polson which is 40 miles south of me on the southern shore of Flathead Lake.  It was 8 p.m. which is still full light although it was darkish from the storm, still,  can’t believe no one got a photo and I haven’t heard there is one.  Also a bunch of NOAA people are rushing to Polson this morning to “VERIFY” the touch down.  We shall see…

There was a LOT of wind and thunder, lightning, rain and then that constant cloud to cloud lightning with no thunder after the storm had seemingly passed.  The wind was pretty spectacular, even at my place.  I have tried to get video of what the trees look like when there is a windstorm.  Because the trees here are mostly the very tall trunks with branches mostly at the top 3rd, they sway very dramatically and with a very high wind it looks like some wild dance out there all of them going every which way and they bend so much it is hard to believe they don’t break – well some do… see later…  It is more dramatic to me as I’ve gone out after and tried to push a tree from a ladder – and they don’t move!

Everyone will be relieved to know that Bob exercised some caution last night – late afternoon as clouds started piling up, he stuck to the porch like glue!  I had to coax Karl out – it wasn’t even dark clouds, but Karl looks suspiciously at the sky when things are changing and if he doesn’t like the look of it, back inside!  I had to shut the door behind him and then throw a treat into the woods – once there he thinks about what he needs to do…  Both came inside at first call – Karl to the closet and Bob hung in on the bed for a bit but then when the show really started he decided under the bed was better.  Given the tornado thing, he was not in a bad place!

I had a chance to try out a new low tech gadget – weather radio that is supposed to flash light and siren if there is a weather emergency of the take cover kind – well there wasn’t but it does get the NOAA loop loud and clear…  It is such a cute radio and includes a crank handle to charge a rechargeable battery, plus will charge my cell phone.  I’m running on AA’s and have been using it mornings and evenings to hear news.

Yesterday was a bit cooler from the rain Tuesday night, so Karl and I braved a bit longer walk in the woods – not our usual path and saw for the first time some of the damage from a windstorm that occured when we were in CO – very sad – several trees lost their tops – just looks so horrible to see the broken top on the ground and the break in what’s still standing.  Then this poor guy who fell over entirely – these large pine do not have much root system and it’s shallow.  I see this alot at the park by the lake where we walk – wind comes across the lake and the trees at the top sometimes just uproot like this.

This tree was about 50 feet tall – well, it will be home to some animals and feed other trees and critters.

As a follow up to my “new attitude” post. I am doing marginally better at dealing with the heat – however, those around me – tv, radio, people in shops – they are getting crankier… It is not just ME! – we don’t like heat here, hey, if people like heat, they don’t live in Montana!!!  We are to have a few days a bit cooler at 90ish instead of 100ish – but no forecast for a return to normal 80’s yet – bah, humbug!