some days, shit happens

this was almost the first time in 11 years that i almost had to break the STILL chain. yesterday, we had a storm pass through with 60 mile per hour straight line winds and an enormous oak tree fell on the house crushing the roof and part of one exterior wall.  we were all home, but no one was hurt! the hole in the roof is about 3 meters wide. so, in addition to the immediate physical damage, we had 3 inches of pouring rain sheeting into the house. at first we thought we had been struck by lightening, because the noise was deafening  and shock reverberations felt like an earthquake . if your are curious, i think i might post a photo of it on instagrm in a bit (i am on instagram as @maryjohoffman).  so, the house was crawling with tree removers, insurance adjusters, and mitigation contractors. with my nerves frayed, i was going to pass on STILL. but alas, as there always is in times of crisis and chaos, there were many moments of hurry up and wait. so during a pause, i walked up the driveway and picked the first subject to catch my attention; tiger lily buds which will probably start opening tomorrow with all that rain and all. 😳

tiger lily buds (Lilium lancifolium)