A Sabbatical from the Sabbatical. That is what I was calling it in my head on Tuesday when the day came and went with no power, and no way to blog and very little normal activity. By Wednesday morning as I was just starting to drag the chain sawed branches to the road I realized I was enjoying myself. Instead of it being day 3 of a man ordained sabbatical, we were all on day 2 of a sabbatical designed by God. Even in the cacophony of chain saws, generators, dump trucks and big pieces of equipment that I do not know the names for it was time to Be Still and Know that I am God. I am not going to write all my inward reflections. They are profound only to me. But this reflection that I did while doing way more physical work that would normally have been on my agenda was enjoyable, refreshing, energizing, and – unexpectedly and incongruously -- restful.

Our power came back on Wednesday night so things are getting back to normal. Rev. kept up his reading by walking to the air conditioned library. Our weekend plans are still on track and I am back outside sorting the pieces of my walnut tree. I am taking lots of pictures with the camera mentioned in first blog, but have yet to edit and post.

In closing for today a report copied from the National Weather Service:

.TORNADO # 5 IN AND NEAR DEMOTTE INDIANA...

RATING:                 EF-1

ESTIMATED PEAK WIND:    100-105 MPH

PATH LENGTH /STATUTE/:  8.0 MILES

PATH WIDTH /MAXIMUM/:   200 YARDS

FATALITIES:             NONE

INJURIES:               NONE

START DATE:             JUNE 30 2014

START TIME:             1049 PM CDT

START LOCATION:         3.3 MILES EAST OF DE MOTTE IN

START LAT/LON:          41.1909/-87.2613

END DATE:               JUNE 30 2014

END TIME:               1056 PM CDT

END LOCATION:           4.9 MILES NORTHEAST OF DE MOTTE IN

END LAT/LON:            41.2240/-87.1138

SURVEY SUMMARY:

A 100-200 YARD SWATH OF CONSISTENT TREE DAMAGE...WITH NUMEROUS

SNAPPED TREES...BEGAN EAST-SOUTHEAST OF DE MOTTE BETWEEN N CR 1150

W AND N CR 1100 W JUST NORTH OF W CR 1200 N. THE DAMAGE CONTINUED

EAST-NORTHEAST JUST TO THE EAST AND THEN THROUGH THE CENTER OF DE

MOTTE NORTH OF 9TH STREET. JUST EAST OF DE MOTTE ALONG ORCHID

STREET...A BARN WAS COMPLETELY DESTROYED AND DOUBLE WIDE

MANUFACTURED HOME EXPERIENCED SOME STRUCTURAL AND/OR ROOF DAMAGE.

FURTHER NORTHEAST ALONG W CR 1450 N NEAR THE END OF THE DAMAGE

PATH...THERE WERE SNAPPED TREES...WOOD POWER POLES LEANING AND

DAMAGE TO TWO FARMSTEADS. ON ONE...THE DOORS COLLAPSED IN A POLE

BARN. IN ANOTHER POLE BARN...THE WALLS COLLAPSED AFTER THE ROOF

WAS BLOWN OFF. THE DAMAGE IN THIS TORNADO PATH WAS CONSISTENT WITH

MAXIMUM SPEEDS OF 100-105 MPH.

IT CANNOT BE CONCLUSIVELY RULED OUT THAT MORE THAN ONE TORNADO

TOUCHED DOWN ALONG THE 8 MILE LONG DAMAGE PATH.