Every Paradise Has Thorns

Many people living in California think it is paradise despite drought, flash floods, mudslides, windstorms, earthquakes, and wildfires.

Now, after years of drought turned the California landscape and vegetation brittle brown, rain has returned. Fortunately, it’s falling so often and so heavy that the intermittent streams are back, racing down the canyons to stain Monterey Bay.

Before night arrives, I look out my office window satisfied with the now lush-green pastures. But I want the rains to end and the wide stream to subside. The soft soil needs relief so the pastures can dry enough that my neighbor’s horses can visit and fatten up. They and I need sunshine.

Meanwhile, I procrastinate from editing my next thriller. But later, after receiving the pushy publisher’s email I decide to work through the night. I should not complain. Jack just wants more chapters finished so he can get the manuscript printed on schedule.

By six a.m. I’m close to being finished. It’s then that I hear a this-isn’t-right sound. Earthquake? Instantly, I do the California-freeze, common to anyone who’s lived in the state for a few years, while my mind waits for the unexpected.

BOOM. The house, windows, and my chair really shake. Oh crap! Is there going to be another shock?

After several seconds I relax. No. Just a short one! Safe again I go back to work. Jack will be happy about my focus staying on the book.

An hour later the sun is brightening the pastures turning today into a great day. In the kitchen, while the microwave warms my cup of coffee, I slide open the window blind to enjoy the view of my backyard.

I can’t see out. A mass of leaves and limbs are crushed against the window. My huge valley oak must have fallen. That’s what shook the house when it slammed down. Staring at the window I worry. How bad is this going to be?

Outside I discover that drought, rain, winds, and shaky ground finally snapped the 80-year-old giant’s three-foot-diameter trunk, dropping it partially onto my house.

A couple of hours with the chainsaw and I remove most of the small limbs. Then I recognize that my previous trimming of the old oak has paid off. Most of the tree’s mass fell beside and not directly onto the house.

No punctured roof. No splintered walls. No broken windows. No cracked sidewalk or displaced retaining wall. Only a mangled rain gutter and a demolished railing above the patio. Now, I just face hours of work to cut and drop the large branches. Sweat and hard work will clear away the debris.

So this is a great day. The house isn’t damaged and the sun is shining.

I hope your day is also great. Please share this blog with your social media friends.

From: Author Ed Mitchell
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