Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Day 200: July 18th – Close call


Hazy, hot and humid followed by strong storms

       Well, I have a pretty good story to tell, but not much of a picture of the day to go with it.  Sharon and I had headed out to Long Pond for some relief from the heat (once again over 90) and to capture some images of the local flora and fauna found there.  As we made our way to the pond, the skies began to open up with some serious lightning and thunder.  By the time we got to our destination, the police had closed the area and locked the gates.  We decided to head down towards Bear Mountain to see if we might find some good subjects to photograph down there.

       As we drove on, the conditions only worsened and it got so bad that we decided to turn around and head home until the storm abated.  We turned down a small lane barely wide enough for two cars and lined with large old trees.  The wind had picked up to the point where the RAV was being pelted with debris being blown from the trees.  Suddenly, both of us saw a large tree being uprooted and heading our way.  I accelerated to get past where I hoped the tree was coming down, but it hung up briefly on the utility wires lining the road and we made it past without a hitch.  Had it not been for the lines, I’m not sure if we would have gotten by that falling tree.

      By the time we made it home, we were out of the major part of the storm and I called the police to let them know that we had just seen a tree come down across the lines.  They informed me that the downed tree had already been reported and the fire department was on its way to tend to the problem.


       When the storm finally past,  or at least that cell, I drove back down to survey the damage.  Two hours later, the crews were still working on the downed lines and I was not permitted to get close enough to get a shot.  So…..what we have for the shot of the day is not really a nature shot per se, but rather a brief snapshot of the results of the power of nature, a Utility Truck.  We are thankful that those lines were there to break the fall of the tree and divert it from its original path which sure looked like it was headed in our direction.  There but for the grace of God……

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