Tornado Damage

This afternoon a tornado hit Gulf Shores, Alabama. Ruth and Fedi's boys were staying in Diane and Mike's condo when the tornado came roaring INTO that condo ripping off the front door

then slamming into the living room tearing the television off the wall and smashing the sliding glass door to the balcony.

Terrified, the boys ran up the stairs to the master bathroom and hid in the bathtub. As one of them said, "we had a close brotherly experience." The wind followed them upstairs and smashed that balcony's sliding glass door also.

 This tornado also picked up a huge generator, flew it up to the second story balcony at mom's condo completely collapsing the roof of that flat as a pancake.

Thankfully the boys were not hurt. We didn't have any of that kind of weather here. Instead we had fog, thick as pea soup fog that not only impeded sight but also sound. We know this because of our experience this morning. We left before 9:00 am to pick up the first load of mares from Middle Grove and when we arrived the herd was all grazing by the gate. We had taken Foxy out with us but instead of unloading her first Karin haltered the 4 mares we were taking in this load and handed them to me then unloaded Foxy. The horses were all excited to meet and greet a new mare and all were polite until Foxy decided she didn't like to be sniffed and started kicking. That sent them all off galloping over the hill and out of sight with Foxy following as fast as she could as she didn't want to be left behind in this new place. Galena and Oksana were loaded in the front of the trailer then Indy and Ayanna loaded into the back. Below is Indy, Ayanna, Oksana and Galena

That first trip took about 15 minutes from the time we got there until we were back on the road. Back at the farm Indy and Ayanna were put in with Jenis and Eliza while Galena and Oksana were put in the paddock next to Evan then off we drove for the second trip. When we arrived we could barely see Easter Lily at the top of the hill. We hiked up the hill and were pleased to find Rosalie and her daughter Abigail with her but Anna and Zalena were no where in sight. Foxy had settled down and was grazing with Missy close by. Easter Lily was making sure that new mare didn't get too close to Abigail, the only foal out there. I started down the hill leading Rosalie but Easter Lily took off at a gallop taking Abigail with her. Rosalie was put in the trailer without much fuss and off I went to get Abigail while Karin looked for the other 2. I got to the far end and was calling for Karin but couldn't hear her at all nor see her or any of the horses.  Hiking back while calling and whistling every once in a while felt weird, almost like everything had vanished. This was just like the twilight zone. By the time I found Easter Lily and Abigail, Karin was still not around but I was hopeful she had found Anna and Zalena and was taking them to the trailer. Easter Lily was haltered and led toward the trailer but Abigail decided to stay with the rest of the herd looking for her mom. Karin put the other 2 in the trailer and led Rosalie back up the hill and when Rosalie called for Abigail she came so back down the hill we went this time bringing Easter Lily too. We were thrilled when Rosalie and Abigail loaded right up. Easter Lily was let go and shooed off so we could drive out of the field and head for home. This trip took about an hour but by 11:00 am we had 8 horses picked up from Middle Grove and brought to the farm and delivered 1 to Middle Grove. Below is Anna, Zalena, Rosalie and Abigail.

Anna and Zalena were put in with Jenis, Eliza, Ayanna and Indy while Rosalie and Abigail were put in with Adara, Zalena's filly and Arturo, Marika's colt. Those weanlings were very curious about Abigail, wanting to sniff her but Abigail is so bossy she turned her rear end and offered to kick. The other two jumped backward just in case then kept their distance. It is interesting to watch herd dynamics. The herd taught these youngsters well. 

Mark was busy working on the indoor arena when we arrived so once the horses were unloaded we joined him and both started working. We got the equipment organized, the arena watered and raked then came in for lunch about 1:30 pm. The place looks fabulous! After lunch Karin needed to go back to mom's to work on that house while I rested. What a productive day for this 2nd day of January 2017. 

Greg, Beth, Mike, Diane, Mom and Joan all made it home from Gulf Shores. Spark and Rhonda are still down there but thankfully their condo didn't have any damage from the tornado.