Life and Death #1 - Storms

Late last Monday I was chatting on the phone when a storm suddenly broke around us, bringing hail like I’ve never seen in my life. The hail wasn’t that big, but it was driven by spiraling wind that came at us from all directions. I thought perhaps it was a small tornado; others said it was straight-line winds moving almost 90 mph. When it was over, the roof and siding were damaged, windows and doors were broken, my car looked like hammered tin, and my baby geese were dead – all six of them. For the last few years, the big snapping turtle who lives in the pond has killed them off, one by one, grabbing a tiny leg and pulling them under as they glide across the water’s quiet surface, never suspecting they might be prey to something from below. A couple years before that, they got caught in the fountain pool and couldn’t get out. I was too late to save them. Life is not guaranteed.