Well, since blogger won't let me upload the photos of our Thursday outing, I don't have a post for tonight. All I can say is that another tornado touched down near Toronto today. This is very unusual for this area. I'll try to post about our day trip again tomorrow.

Tornadoes Hit Southern Ontario

On Thursday we had planned to go to the Toronto Zoo, but since thunderstorms were in the forecast, we changed our plans. We headed out about 9:30 am. We weren't in a hurry and were just going to do a bit of exploring. I will post about that tomorrow.

We were on our way home about 6pm. Outside my window, I could see storm clouds moving in.

It was getting really dark and lightning was flashing brilliantly in the northern sky. I tried to get a photo of it, but lightning is fast. I did get a shot of the clouds in the distance.

Within minutes...like maybe three... this is a picture out the same window. Torrential rain and high winds roared through the area. It felled trees and I wondered if a tornado was brewing. I would guesstimate winds of 80 km per hour (approximately 50 miles an hour.) These kind of storms are rare in this area, though we used to get some bad thunderstorms when I was a child.

It poured so hard that we could barely see the road. Thank goodness we were just outside the city limits. We got into town and many intersections were flooded...one so badly it came up to the bumper of the van. The boys were in awe of nature`s fury.

By the time we got to the boys' house, it was only drizzling. The storm lasted about 30 minutes, but that was enough. Unknown to us, Michelle was about 5 minutes ahead of us and made it home just before the boys. She was traveling alone in the storm and was glad to be inside city limits when it hit. She had seen the storm clouds and put (in her words) "the petal to the metal." LOL I do have a daughter with a lead foot.

We all arrived home safely but this morning we found out there had been tornadoes throughout southern Ontario and as far north as Huntsville...about a four hour drive from here. A boy about Jordan's age is reported to have been killed in a campground north of here. Some people will be cleaning up for months. I'm not sure to what extent homes were lost but several people were injured and had to be treated at hospital.

Toronto area was also hit with several tornadoes and so was Welland and Niagara Falls, which is where we had just come from. 88,000 people in Ontario were without power. Some still are. Nature's fury is nothing to mess with. It seems that storms are becoming more severe in this area once again. From the sky, we may be in for another one today.

Update: Hurricane Bill is headed toward the Maritime Provinces. This is where hubby's mother lives. I do hope it misses her little town.

Trumpet Vine Blooms

We planted trumpet vine in the spring and this is what it looked like a while back. This morning hubby came in and said we've got a flower. Huh! We have lots of flowers. Then he told me the trumpet vine, which we thought might die because of all the rain, was blooming.

I took the camera and went out into the yard and this is what I saw. Beautiful yellow flowers.

A closer look. I love these bright yellow blooms and they bring a lot of colour to the yard.

And this one is about ready to bloom. I didn't realize that they bloomed from a pod-shaped tube. Can you see the yellow at the tip? That is where the blooms come from.

I'm so glad that I saw Hootin' Anni's trumpet vine. It inspired me to plant one of my own. I certainly hope it will winter well. It is on the west side of the house and may need some protection from the harsh winds that blow across the park. If anyone knows more about how to get this beautiful plant to winter, please let me know.

Thanks, Anni, for introducing me to these beautiful flowers and also for my new look on my blog. It's cheery and cute. Perfect!

A Picture Says a Thousand Words

Not much explanation here. Jordan loves that goofy coloured Canadian money and so do I. It makes it so much easier when every denomination is a different colour.

Happy 12th Birthday, Jordan

I can't believe that Jordan turned 12 today. Where has the time gone? Seems like yesterday I was holding him in my arms and rocking him to sleep.

Though today is his birthday, his parents had a party for him yesterday...a couple of his friends and family.

Jordan in his brand new hat. I think it suits him. Jordan likes hats and looks great in all kinds.

Brandon and his friend, Lucas. Lucas is also friends with Jordan. The two of them were hamming it up.

Grandma couldn't let the day go by without having a picture with Jordan in his new hat.

He loves Gilligan's Island and has season 2, so hubby and I got him season one. Gilligan has been loved by many for decades.

Yughioh cards in a tin. Jordan collects cards and has been wanting this Rainbow Dragon tin for a while.

Jordan with one of his cards. Behind him in the red shirt is his friend, Daniel and of course Lucas and the boys' dog, Buddy.

Mario Cart for Wii with a steering wheel. Wii is a great game if young people really need to play games because it keeps them moving around instead of being couch potatoes.

The cake. Little hands (Griffyn) were reaching for it. Mom put candles on it and we all sang Happy Birthday. What a choir that was. Poor kid. His paternal grandparents were there as well and enjoyed the party.

The food was good. Hotdogs, sausage, potato and macaroni salad and cake, of course. Afterward we all sat around chatting. Here is Melissa, Tarryn (who wasn't feeling well) Brandon, Jack and Griffyn.

I cuddled and rocked Tarryn and after a while he started feeling better. Unfortunately, before the evening was over Melissa had to take him to the hospital. I knew he had the croup when I heard him cough and later his fever spiked.

Griffyn drumming on a Native drum while Mom (Melissa) and Tarryn look on. Tarryn isn't quite walking yet, but is getting around.

Tarryn drumming. Poor little guy. I really should phone Melissa and see how he's doing today.

Update: Tarryn was taken to the hospital last night with breathing related problems. He was given meds and sent home.

Happy Birthday, Jordan. Did you know you were born around 9am on a Sunday morning? Hope you enjoyed your day swimming with Mom, Brandon and Daniel.