A Storm, an Old Willow, and a Squirrel

A strong thunderstorm went over Sauk Centre - and quite a few other parts of central Minnesota - this evening.

Right now, about ten minutes before 10:00 p.m. CDT, the line of storms that our bit of excitement was part of seems to be mostly in southern Minnesota and Wisconsin: and still going strong.

It looks like our part of the world fared pretty well. The St. Cloud Times' headline is a good summary: "Heavy storm leaves mostly minor damage in Central Minnesota." (Mark Sommerhauser, TaLeiza Calloway, St. Cloud Times (July 27, 2010)) According to the article we had around 60 mile an hour wind gusts. Over in Morrison County, ligntning blew a smallish hole in the side of one family's home, and damaged another family's phone box. The folks with the perforated house were in the basement at time time, and weren't hurt.

When we looked out the east door, after the storm had moved on, we had a much better view of the sky than we'd had before. The top and north side of the old willow tree in our back yard wasn't there.


The old willow looked a lot shorter than it was before the storm. About 5:56 p.m. July 27, 2010.

At that point, I thought it would be a matter of getting someone to cut the fallen branches to workable lengths and haul them off: then wait for the tree to grow to its full height again. That willow has weathered a great many storms.

Walking round to the other side of the tree, though: I'm not so sure it'll come back this time. Or that it's a good idea to let it re-grow the upper works.


I'm really glad this wasn't close to anything other than the shed. About 5:59 p.m. July 27, 2010.


Most of the old willow is on the ground now. About 5:59 p.m. July 27, 2010.

A few minutes after six, I noticed a squirrel on the stub of a branch, on the one remaining top trunk of the tree. It had stepped out, a bit like a homeowner coming out on the front stoop to look around after a storm. Which it probably was doing: Quite a few squirrels lived in that old willow. After looking around, the squirrel sat up and started rather vigorously grooming its tail.

Later in the evening, I heard an unfamiliar bird squawking. My guess is that it's another dispossessed critter from the tree.

Still later, we got this sunset:


Sunset. July 27, 2010.

Meanwhile, I've made about 150 tickets for the Knights of Columbus bingo workers. We're getting ready to be at the 'bingo booth' at the Stearns County Fair again this year.

Sunday: Sunshine, Family, Grilling

It's been a beautiful day. #1 daughter came down from Alex to spend the day with us, always a pleasure. She spent most of her time with #3 daughter and our son, but I got a little talking in with the firstborn of the family.

Our son is excited about a movie, "WALL-E," that's coming out later this month. So am I, for that matter. The show about a little robot looks like fun.

I grilled burgers after church, and didn't incinerate them too badly. While I was doing that, a bird (a baltimore oriole, I think) and a squirrel were having a sort of discussion in the tree south of the grill. The topic, pretty clearly, was which had the better claim to a particular branch. I think the oriole won.

The next branch over is where orioles built a nest last year.

I took a nap (not my usual practice) in the afternoon. That was probably a good idea.

My wife and #3 daughter are resting up from a very, very, busy weekend. I found that they hadn't entirely cleared out the house up in the Red River Valley. There's some left for me to do.

Still, filling a good-size rental truck, a trailer, and the back of a pickup, put a sizable dent in what's left to do. And, since the storage company apparently wasn't able to get the unit ready (or the previous users didn't return the keys), what was supposed to go into a 10 x 20 storage unit is now in our house. It's getting a bit cosy in here.

Three trees, each with a pink "X" on them: due to be removed next week.

The Ash Street Project will probably reach our house tomorrow, or very soon after. That means that it won't be long before the three big trees in front of the house will be gone soon. #1 daughter hugged the southernmost one this morning.

I'm none too happy to see them go. But, I tried negotiating with the city about it: and couldn't convince them. That wasn't too surprising, since a photo of them had been used as an example of how some trees absolutely had to go.

Still, it was worth a try.

I've got a webcam set up, looking at the north side of the corner of ninth and Ash Street, that should give a pretty good look at some of the street work.

Sunday: Cold Air, Hot Grill, and Squirrels

It was warming up by the time the family went to church: a couple of degrees about 10 below. Happily, the van started, and ran smoothly. #1 daughter stayed in Alexandria today: a prudent move, since she was a bit under the weather.

As usual on weekends, I grilled lunch. One thing I like about cold weather is how clear the air is. Happily, there wasn't much wind. I had two birds for company, briefly. They were one of those varieties that seem indifferent to gravity as they hop around branches. This duo seemed unusually anxious to check out this family's old willow quickly, and then move on to a point north of us.


At least two squirrels were out while I was grilling. The old willow serves as a sort of condominium for them, and there's a convenient overhead connection to another tree. Convenient to a squirrel, at least.


Most years, boxelder bugs are not part of everyday life by the time January keeps December from bumping into February. This year, they keep paying uninvited and unwanted visits.

I napped part of the afternoon, enjoyed listening to my wife talk with #2 daughter on the phone, got some planning and organizing done while the rest of the at-home family was at Soo Bahk Do, and read "Garfield" to our son.

There may be a better life than this, but it's hard to imagine right now. Boxelder bugs and all.