Lightening Strikes....

On the morning of Friday April 6 a brief thunderstorm swept into southwest Michigan off from Lake Michigan.  Although, Sprout was the only resident of Peckerwood Farm home at the time, the evidence of an electrical storm awaited us when we arrived that evening.  In the darkness, we didn't realize exactly what had caused the bark of one of the tulip trees that  line the driveway to fly across the yard.  However, by Saturday morning it was obvious that the tree had been struck by lightening. 

As we looked closer, we realized that some of the remnants scattered around the yard were of the bird house that was attached to the tree about 6 feet off the ground.  The power of the lightening had completely exploded the cedar nestbox and pieces of it flew over 50 feet into the back yard.  Luckily, the birdhouse was unoccupied at the time. However, it did reinforce the power of the electrical pulse that caused the bark to fly off the west side of the tree.

As you can see, the lightening caused the bark to peel off in a long strip and extended about 30 feet up the side of the tree. Additionally, it blew a hole of dirt out at the base of the trunk.  Amazingly, the delicate blossoms of the daffodils next to the tree were untouched.  As we picked up the thick heavy chunks of bark scattered around the yard, we wondered what kind of sound was created at the time of the strike. Poor Sprout was probably terrified.  We hope that the tree was not damaged beyond the point of recovery.  It really is a beautiful tulip tree and trust in the resilience of nature that it will repair itself and continue to provide shade for the hostas planted under it's branches on Peckerwood Farm.