Showers of Blessing

 


Now we are doing rain. So much for recreational snow. The roads are all icy. I tried to go out on work assignments. More on that later. I really liked how the raindrops were clinging to this red cedar.



The blessing? Well, um... shuffles feet and gets embarrassed... I slid into a ditch on a back road. I'm fine. I even managed to drive out of the ditch (gotta love my little Subaru!). But I ripped the back bumper off the car. Oops. Or not. Bumpers are only plastic these days and this one had a crack or two. So I get a whole new plastic piece, and the real bumper that's behind it since I also bent one of the brackets, all for the $100 deductible on my insurance.

Finally, I'm getting some benefit from having insurance. Mostly I think of it as a legalized scam, but today it earned its keep. Parts are ordered, it will be fixed early next week.

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Fire and Ice

 



I sure can't figure this one out, so I'm hoping there might be something in the newspaper tomorrow explaining what this is all about.

At about 10:30 this morning, I looked out the kitchen window. About 1/4 mile down the highway I could see a tall flame. I went outside, but couldn't tell what it was. Using the camera I zoomed in, and discovered that one of the large propane cylinders at the distributor was being flared off.



Just a couple minutes later, it began to sleet. I was so interested in watching the fire that I didn't take a picture of the ice collecting on the kitchen steps, but when I looked at the pictures... well, just compare them. In the first, the air is clear. In the second it's white. That's because of how heavily the slush was falling.

I watched and watched. I didn't call 911. I mean... this tank is just yards from the office of the distributor. There are businesses all around it. Cars and trucks were passing by on the highway, the drivers apparently paying no attention. There were no police cars, and no fire trucks nearby.

How long did it last? I didn't watch every minute, but approximately five hours. Five hours! I know that's a big tank, but that's a big flame. I'm amazed that it took that long to burn out. And why would a company choose this method to empty a tank?

Not a Quality Day for Several Families

This is NOT what I was going to share today. I had some plant pictures all ready. Then at dusk this evening hubby said I should take the camera out on the front porch because there was a big thundercloud with lots of lightning in it.

While I was standing on the porch there was a horrible screech of brakes and a really big crash followed by rolling clouds of dust. Let me explain that we live on a major highway, but our house is 400 feet back from the roadway on the top of a hill. Let me also explain that there are LOTS of crashes on this road, so I know what crashes sound like, and this was a CRASH.

I ran in the house, grabbed the phone, and called 911 as I made my way down to the road to try to get info about injuries. I'm not going to be able to tell you all of what happened, but I know the outcome is not going to be good for one of the people. Someone who had also stopped said it was a single car accident, but based on where and how the white car ended up, I can hardly believe that. I guess I'll have to wait for the news report tomorrow.



Anyway, the sheriff deputies arrived while I was still on the phone. They sure didn't need me so I went back to the house. Meanwhile the local fire department arrived and several more police cars.

40 minutes later I looked out again, and there were even more emergency lights! So I went down again, and took the camera. This time I talked with a lady who was waiting for her husband to come get her. Her truck had been rear-ended by someone else as the police were trying to direct traffic past.

The only thing I really know is that they took a girl from the white car out by AeroMed. So that can't be good.



We have seen an awful lot of accidents in front of our house over the years we have lived here. Most of them were smaller- thankfully. But I'm saying a prayer for this girl and her family. Please, folks, drive carefully. We are all one small mistake away from eternity.

Update: Friday evening. Well, it was a one-car accident. I was confused because a supposed witness had said it was traveling the opposite direction. The driver was a 22-year-old girl from Lansing. She was taken to a Grand Rapids hospital where the paper reports that she is in serious condition with non-life-threatening injuries. I hope that is good news, but I bet she will have a long road ahead. Since she is not local I may never hear more about how this goes.