The skies were black over Pickering as I looked east from my office window about 10 minutes before I left for the day. The news said the storm would pass quickly and it did but what it left behind was a bit of a shock.
I drove home on the 401 but traffic was stop and go as I neared my exit. I noticed white along the edge of the road...was it from the trees? No, it was snow, no t was hail. I turned the corner on to my street and people were out with shovels clearing sewer grates. The street was flooded. The rootops were white. There was salad? all over the road...no, it was shredded leaves...the foliage on the trees was thin. My jaw dropped. People working stopped , looked at me and shook their heads numbly.
My son Glenn had been waiting for me at my condo but left as soon as the hail stopped...he ran home to check his garden after watching mine shred before his eyes. He told me the hailstones were like golf balls and they smashed down for 15 minutes. He said it looked like the inside of a blender as the wind blew and hail shredded leaves off the trees.
My camera batteries needed to be recharged so the photos below are about an hour and a half after the storm. The sun was shining again. Residents are silently walking about the complex shaking their heads.
Our gardens were so pretty...it is like living in a beautiful park in my area. They spend lots of money here and work hard on the grounds and gardens.
What can we do but clean it up, salvage what we can and make it pretty again. Just do it.
0 comments