Three years after a tornado hit my property, Ernie the Elm is still clinging to life. The elm tree’s leaves just now came out a week ago. The elm was nearly torn out of the ground by the tornado on March 31st, 2011. After the tornado, the elm tree listed at a 45 degree angle. I tried to find a photo of how we staked him back into the ground trying to pull him upright the best we could, but could not find the photo. He is still listing to the east, and has a very visible permanent bend from the storm. The listing to the east and bend in the tree will forever remind me of how close my house came to taking a direct hit from a tornado. However, the elm is still thriving, a testament to how tough nature is. The tornado hit exactly 24 hours after I had Mesa euthanized. I still wonder is Mesa was in the vortex of the storm and steered the tornado away from directly hitting my house. The elm was planted back in 2008, and was growing well until the tornado almost ripped the tree out of the ground. I think the tree and its roots are finally starting to gain strength again as each of the last few years the tree seems to be growing more, however still slowly.
The elm tree just after planting in 2008.
The surgical precision of a tornado is displayed in this photo.The tornado passed just 10 feet south and 10 feet above my house as evident by the branches torn off the south side of the Norfolk Pine Tree. You can easily see exactly where the tornado passed my home from where the branches of the Norfolk Pine were stripped off. The tornado destroyed buildings behind my house, lifted just off the ground as it approached my house and then touched down again across the street from my home.
Blue Mesa – He passed above the earth plane exactly 24 hours before the tornado hit. I like to think his spirit was in the storm and steered the tornado from directly hitting my home. Then as the tornado lifted off the ground, Mesa was swept up into the heavens. Mesa was one the sweetest most beautiful cats I have ever known, I miss him very much.