Timber

I was out and about recently when J called to inform that lightning had struck a tree in our neighbor's yard. My first thought was "great, where did it fall and what damage did it do?". It ends up it didn't fall, it's more like it exploded. As you can see below, it was as if all that was left was huge shards of the tree. It took out the treehouse and swing set next to it.

J said it sounded like a bomb had gone off outside and he actually felt it in the house. The tree is in the back corner of the neighbor's yard and the "explosion" was so powerful that 8 foot long pieces of tree cleared our yard and ended up in the next yard, easily over 100 ft. away. These pieces were like 4-6 foot long spears sticking out of the ground. They were so firmly in the ground that they stayed like that through the storms and for the next few days until we took them out.
I have to brag on my hubby now. Our neighbor is a single mom with 2 daughters who would not have been able to clean this up on their own. She tried to file with her insurance, but since it is classified as an act of God, they wouldn't cover it. J decided that we (read 90% by him) could handle it for her. I love his integrity, concern for others around him, and how hardworking he is. It was as simple to him as "it's the right thing to do," so we did it! Thankfully J wrangled our nephews into pitching in as well.

J is quite handy with his chainsaw, so he would cut and carried and loaded. The amazing part of the whole thing was that nobody was injured and no major damage was done. The treehouse is no more, but the 2 girls next door are teenagers that don't use it anymore. One piece of our fence was hit, but J fixed it. We were in awe of the power in the storm, God's creation. Oh-and we have firewood to last for quite a while!