Austin Blues

Well, we've gotten through our second storm in the new house.

It's scary when they come at night - even if you know they are coming. Something about being woken up by hail pelting against the window or flashes of lightning with pounding thunder or wind that sounds like it's prying your house apart board by board or a combination of all of the above.

Severe thunderstorms sometimes arrive with tornadoes, swirling destruction that sounds like a train rushing down a track.

Since we live near the railroad track, that sound cue won't be a lot of help. We won't know if we have a tornado or a late night freight run on our hands until we hear the whistle. By that time, it could be too late, so I check radar maps whenever I hear the wind gust threateningly.

Needless to say, I didn't get a lot of sleep last night.

And I was thankful this morning to look out the window and see the car in the driveway...

...our four trees still standing...

...and our flowerbeds intact.

And then I was thankful again that the storm had watered the grass and trees, so we wouldn't have to.

Our trees and grass are doing well. They are growing and green and healthy.

A lawn service stuck a flier in our door, possibly identifying the type of grass we have. But we have less of an idea about our trees. (We were told by the builder that a local nursery just planted whatever they had on hand at the time.)

The arrival of spring leaves have helped with identification some. We can now tell that the following tree is an oak.

The other two trees in the front yard had beautiful pink buds, and are now leafy green. Obviously ornamental, but we don't know what to call them.

The side yard tree began with white buds and remains the biggest mystery to us.

Here is a close up of its buds and leaves:

So, if you have any idea what kind of tree this is, please let us know. Then maybe we can care for it in a more informed way, instead of relying on violent spring storms.