Spring time in the South is a magnificent sight. It is akin to an ever changing
kaleidoscope of colors and designs as new life and the reemerging of the sleeping changes the landscape from the blandness of winter to an ocean of greens bedazzled with a rainbow of wildflowers.
If you have never experienced this time of year in the South land you have missed a spectacular event, but along with all the beauty, Mother Nature has a violent side. This year we have seen far too much of it.On April 27th numerous tornado's cut through Alabama, news media calling it the worst outbreak on a single day ever in our state. It is rivaled only by the 1994 tornado's that claimed over twenty lives in our immediate area of Cherokee County. Thankfully, although there was mass destruction to some area homes, this time we had no loss of lives. Others in our state were not so lucky. Our thoughts and prayers go out to them.
While our first priorities are the people and their homes, the loss of wildlife habitat and the possible loss of wildlife it's self along with home pets are a concern. Each time the news media reported a story of a pet being reunited with its human family we rejoiced right along with them.
Terrapin Creek flows behind our farm. About three weeks before the storm while kayaking down it I stopped to watch two cranes in the top of a tall tree beside their nests. After the storm I stood on a hillside where the storm crossed the roadway that runs parallel to the creek, and looking back I searched for where the tree would have been . I say would have been because now there was only twisted broken trees as far as you could see .
I have posted two pictures. One is of a beautiful field of flowers about 1/2 mile down the road from the farm that I took one morning on my way to work a week before the storm. The second is looking back on the path the storm came about 1/2 mile further down from the field of flowers as it crossed the creek and the road.
As I stood looking at the tangle of trees it made me sad knowing there was no way the baby cranes in the nest could have survived. Hopefully the adult cranes did and there will be other babies. It will be a long time, if ever, before the land will heal.
It is because of loses such as this and others, man made, to wildlife habitat that we need to be mindful of, and whenever possible set aside space to our wildlife. It is our hope, even if only in some small way, to make a difference by delegating our acreage to a wildlife habitat.
