Before global warming kicked in, I don't remember Masachusetts having extreme weather at all. (I remember "Hurricane" Gloria, sometime in the mid-80s, as something to go walk the dog in the middle of.) Well, this year there's been a bunch of stuff. Tonight we got a quick, very violent thunderstorm: I heard words on our street like "microburst" (who even knows what that is? people who watch the Weather Channel?), "tornado," "flash flood," and so on. Ken went out for a walk with the camera.
This is directly across the street from us, on the corner of the church lot. Fortunately no one's car or house was damaged. The church itself looked fine. As Ken continued his tour (and, being a good citizen as ever, helped someone unclog a storm sewer, move some downed limbs, etc.), we watched a whole procession of people from the neighborhood stop by to photograph the tree, pose for photos in front of the tree, discuss the tree, give interviews about the tree to a local TV crew, etc. Quite the little suburban excitement. (For more dramatic photos from the Arlington Patch, see here.)
This is our street.
Amsden Street on the way to Waldo Park.
The house of the cat lady with the crazy-looking summer-shorn Himalayan cats - who, reportedly, are okay.
But the house isn't.
Ouch.
The cemetery near Waldo Park.
All the alleys in the cemetery are named after saints and popes - this one was "Innocent."
More people with the urge to photograph.
Back to our corner - photogs still at it.
Good day for fire engines, too (apparently a huge tree fell all the way across Mass Ave at Lake Street, prompting traffic backups and a lot of Fire Dept activity). Henry says he saw five fire trucks, plus a police car.
Much more momentous and consequential things are going on elsewhere in the world tonight, but for what this is worth, it was momentarily exciting to feel somewhat connected to the town we live in (which otherwise mostly just seems kind of random) and talk to some of our neighbors. Perhaps we will feel thus connected more often starting in September, when Henry enters public school. Or not? For now, we're just happy the latest heat wave has broken.
