River Roots Redevelopment: After the Storm

Selina Pedi-Smith,

Founder, Pellere Foundation

Welp, my plan to start Tai Chi on Saturday mornings got waylaid almost as soon as I came up with it.

I woke up this past Saturday to a good bit of storm damage and…you can imagine where the day went. We didn’t do fireworks or hot dogs or s’mores. We fixed things, cleaned things, and said, “Okay, maybe tomorrow will be our fun-in-the-sun day.”

Then we looked at the forecast and said, “Okay, maybe next weekend.”

From what I understand, we were relatively lucky. Many people lost power in Friday night’s storm. Some lost it in Saturday’s shorter but fiercer one. We lost ours after a relatively gentle-looking rain on Sunday that must have been too much too soon for some big ol’ tree somewhere.

It was the longest outage we’ve had in a while, and I can only imagine how hard it was for those who went without power for days instead of hours. I can also imagine how hard it was for the linemen working day and night through a relentlessly stormy holiday weekend to get everyone back up and running.

Nature certainly put on a show.

I’m not saying I enjoyed the intensity of these particular storms, or the damage they caused. Spending a Saturday cleaning up stormwater washouts and downed trees in 98% humidity is not my idea of fun.

But…generally speaking, I love a good summer thunderstorm. The thunder and lightning press some deeply ingrained awe button inside me. I can sit on our porch and watch an ordinary storm for ages.

Friday night’s storm was not ordinary. That wind was downright scary.

Apparently, our resident frogs and toads knew it too.

See, we have a group of adorable toads with glorious voices living in a small decorative pond near the front porch. And we have equally adorable tree frogs, bullfrogs, and green frogs who *think* they have glorious voices living around the larger ponds below the house. Normally, the moment rain begins, the chorus starts.

But when the wind picked up Friday night, they all went silent.

Not gradually. Not one by one. Just…silent.

By Saturday morning, though, they were back. Little heads poking up out of the muddy water as I walked around the property picking up branches and checking where the water had decided to go.

They watched me. I watched them.

I found myself imagining that we were all doing roughly the same thing: coming out once it felt safe, checking on our homes, taking stock of what had changed and what needed fixed.

That makes it a little easier, I think. Storms happen. Trees fall. Water finds new paths. Plans for Tai Chi turn into chainsaws, shovels, and muddy boots.

By Sunday’s rain, the fallen trees had been cleared. The toads and frogs were singing again. The lights came back on. And we plan to set off our fireworks and cook our hot dogs and s’mores *this* weekend.

I still plan to learn Tai Chi.

Maybe the frogs will join in.

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Rachel Brosnahan is the Community Engagement Coordinator for River Roots Redevelopment. Want to help us rethink what redevelopment can look like—together? Follow the conversation and share your thoughts with us on Facebook and LinkedIn, or reach out directly to rachel@riverrootsredevelopment.org. We’d love to hear from you!