It's a twister! It's a twister!

Lawn Ornament
Originally uploaded by bredlo

So while we were sitting around in New Hampshire, eating lobster and swatting mosquitoes, a tornado or a microburst or some kind of weather insanity struck the Chicago area.

This house is two blocks from my house.

I called my next door neighbor and V. the turtle-sitter. (yes, we have a friend who comes to the house and takes care of Toby the turtle. So sue me.)

My neighbor walked around our yard and assured us that although the yard is a mess, and a tree is down in the back yard, nothing hit the house. The next door neighbors on the other side weren't so lucky; a huge tree fell and crushed their chimney and part of the roof.

I swear this is because they had had extensive renovations done, whereas we? Had not.

V. the turtle sitter, who has a key, let herself in. She tells me there is no flooding or leaking. All is well.

This is not true of much of the rest of the neighborhood.


That house one is pretty much across the street from my kids' school. Three blocks from my house.

The rectory of a local church--about four blocks from us.

The root ball on this tree was so big that when it fell, it brought the sidewalk up with it.

Many thanks to bredlo on Flickr for his photographs.