Spontaneous Combustion

Sometimes words just pop into my head when I see something.... sort of like spontaneous combustion. Two little dust motes rub up against each other and -BAM! You have a full blown conflagration. Or in my case, you have a full blown thought.

We have been having some hellacious thunderstorms this past week and I have heard some of the lightning bolts land uncomfortably near. I walk past this place everyday with my dog, Henry. Almost nothing ever changes-or certainly not this dramatically. This large tree had clearly been struck and was obliterated.

The word that popped into my head was "Cleave." I would like to say I don't know why, but isn't it obvious? It is as if this tree was split with a knife. You can see the trail of the bolt down the whole trunk. The bark was blown off and the top of this tree was gone.

Nature never ceases to amaze me. It can be so subtle.... consider evolution or the variety of flora and fauna. Then it can be wickedly brutal and fast.... like the tornado that came through NH yesterday or this lightning strike.

It gives you pause to think.