For anyone that lives in a location where summertime thunderstorms can also produce hail, you will know and feel the pain. For others, no doubt you’ve seen videos of its destructive forces. From pea-sized, golf-ball and even tennis ball-sized hail, it can make you cringe.
Broken car windshields and car lots were every new car has hail damage. One local car dealership built coverings for its new cars to protect them from future hail storms. Smart move! Then their’s damage to homes, roofs etc. A friend once had their siding all but destroyed. For physical property damage it can be costly indeed!
Then there’s the gardeners. Those who’s summer flowers and blooms are precious. The joy and delight their planting efforts bring them.
Even community gardens filled with tomatoes plants, zucchini and other summer garden veggies nearing harvest. The precious bounty that has been nurtured all summer. The very thought that a hail storm may hit causes a whole other set of anxieties.
For a flower photographer, a hail storm can be a crushing blow as well. The very subject matter that you focus on all but destroyed.
Such was a storm back in late August of 2018. This was at the beginning of my flower photography journey…
The Hail Storm
Late August 2018. The hail storm that hit did not offer much warning. Being in the direct line of fire left little time to protect any of the outdoor plants or flowers. As such most of my floral photo subject matter around the neighborhood was decimated. To say it left carnage in its path is an understatement!
The flowers in the gardens which were on my list to photograph were gone. There’s no way the fragile petals could endure such a torrential onslaught and beating. It was so sad!!
Walking throughout the neighborhood, it was a mess! A massive clean-up was underway. Nature can be beautiful AND cruel.
Acquiesce to Nature’s Weather Whims
Hail can be rather indiscriminate. It can literally hit on one side of a street and not the other. One neighborhood may get hammered and another remain unscathed.
If there is any saving grace in terms of flowers, at least this storm happened later in the season. Such an impact earlier on would have been more difficult to digest.
Gardeners with veggie gardens have since put up protective barriers in anticipation of future hail storms. A wise move indeed! It’s heart-breaking to lose your entire harvest especially after all your hard work!
The sad truth is, sometimes it’s necessary to acquiesce to Nature’s weather whims 🙁
But I’m so very grateful we’ve not had a hail storm like that since 🙂