After Hurricane Helene passed through, we got out of the house, wanting to see what had become of the woods.
We tried to make it to Panola Mountain, but the South River was angry and high. It was across the road in two places — Panola Road and Flat Bridge Road. I turned north to Arabia Mountain.
If the eye of the hurricane is to the east, you can feel the wind shift from the north to the west as the storm passes. The air is fresh, and there’s something about seeing how the forest recycles itself while the demonstration is in progress. The storm had dropped some trees — the largest I ran across was a sweetgum, 8-inches in diameter — but there was something wrong with almost all of them. Although the sweetgum had green leaves, it was largely rotten. It shattered when it hit the ground.
The winds culled out the weaker trees, opening the canopy, allowing stronger, younger plants to get some sun and to grow.
Along the way, we saw about 60 vultures on the ground in one spot, not far from a powerline tower, which I think had been their roost. The vultures stayed on the ground, looking bedraggled. A few tussled over a dead snake. I’d guess it hadn’t been able to get out of bottom as the water rose.
Later, the skies were full of vultures, another example of how the nature recycles itself after a bad storm.
When I read “60 vultures,” I wondered what was coming. Phew.
ReplyDeleteStay safe.