Three P.M. Rush Hour, Autumnal Weather, and Yet More Storm Photos

Sunday, September 18, 2011. The weekday afternoon rush out of school is part of my life again. Or, rather, part of my life's backdrop. That time of day, I'm generally at my desk, occasionally glancing out the window to see what the horn honking or tire screeching is about.

For some reason, there isn't so much of a concentrated stream of traffic going toward the school each morning.

That July 10 storm left quite an impression on Sauk Centre: figuratively and literally. I still see the occasional tilted stump. For the most part, though, folks here have cleared debris, patched sidewalks, and gotten back to life's routines.

Since I haven't been out much this week, and still have quite a few photos of storm damage: Today's entry is mostly pictures from July.


The AmericInn sign post and frame, near Main and the Interstate, weathered the storm fine. The sign, not so much: it's the tattered banner clinging to the frame. July 20, 2011.

Our birdbath works just fine, and looks a bit like the old-fashioned concrete sort: but it's a plastic shell. I put quite a lot of sand in the post, to make it stable, and let gravity and a friction fit take care of the bowl. The birdbath's bowl flew away during the July storm.

I looked around the yard, and the front yards of the neighbors, but didn't spot it. Given what I'd seen the storm do elsewhere, I figured that lightweight plastic bowl was somewhere in northwestern Stearns County. Or southern Todd.

As I recall, a bit over a week later, the birdbath bowl showed up on our yard, near the street. Someone must have spotted it at their place, worked out where it came from, and returned the thing.

Thanks!


Birdbath bowl's back. July 20, 2011.

More photos, from late July, 2011:


The little Marian shrine's pretty much undamaged. The debris is mostly pieces of trees that were cut into manageable lengths. July 25, 2011.


Jitters Java put a rather showy branch in their sign, sort of like a table's centerpiece. This photo shows what it looked like, shortly before they took it out. The branch, I mean. The sign's still there. July 25, 2011.


Gopher Prairie Motel's sign shows why it's a good idea to stay under cover during this sort of storm. July 25, 2011.

Today's been a seasonally-appropriate gray, rainy, cool autumn day. I stayed inside as much as possible. I never did see the charm in taking strolls in the rain. Maybe because my glasses tended to fog up.