Clean up still continues under a Guardian Angel Tree

Trees of Distinction They grew tall and straight and bold For many years they adorned Oklahoma towns Folks were proud of them and they Were resilient and stood their ground As time went on the landscape changed Homes sprouted where land was forlorn These trees of distinction flourished Couples married and babies were born And then Mother Nature grew harsh one day Tornadoes angrily tore right through It was a horrible disaster It hit the country and the cities too Time marched on, of course, before New seeds sprouted and trees begun And after many years once more There are beautiful trees of distinction! Marilyn Lott © 2008 - 167

Like the returning green leaves
the first panel is lifted on a replacement home

'Amazing Gracie' returns from the storm 2001-08-31 By Ken Raymond On a night in 1998, a tornado passed over Janie and Kerry Billington's Logan County home, lifting a shed and tossing it aside, shattering windows in Kerry Billington's art studio - and driving 6-year-old Gracie, a pet turtle, into the night. It would be almost three years before Gracie's return. The reunion came Aug. 12. But no one knows what happened to Gracie between her disappearance and her return. Perhaps, Janie theorized, Gracie reverted to instinct - dining on dandelions and vegetables, digging burrows to protect her from the cold, traveling at night to avoid the heat. Or perhaps someone took Gracie in. Whatever the case, Gracie isn't talking. She can't. Now 9 years old, the 60-pound African spur tortoise is home, and the Billingtons said she must have been sent from heaven. "It really is a miracle that she's made it, and even more of a miracle that she's back with us," Janie said. "That's why we've taken to calling her Amazing Gracie." On that stormy night, Janie and Kerry Billington fled their home with their two children and two dogs, leaving Gracie in her pen. When they returned, they found Gracie's enclosure in tatters. She was gone. Kerry Billington searched a nearby field and a wooded area east of the house. As time passed, the family's efforts to find Gracie subsided, but they never gave up hope. On Aug. 12, the Billingtons received a call from an Edmond couple who had found a "turtle" crawling on N Broadway - about seven miles from where Gracie had disappeared.  The couple captured the tortoise and put a sign in their yard reading, "Found Turtle." The Billingtons' former housekeeper saw the sign and stopped, thinking her granddaughter might like a pet. "She took one look at the tortoise and knew it was unusual," Janie Billington said. "She told them she'd only seen one like that once before ... and then she remembered that we'd lost a tortoise."  The couple called the Billingtons that afternoon, and the family recovered Gracie. Gracie's pink and green patterns Kerry Billington and the children had painted on her shell were faded. Since her return, Gracie has gained about 20 pounds, Janie Billington said. "If God can care so much about a tortoise, then think how much He cares about us," Janie Billington said.

Beneath the rubble, life returns to a magnificent "Guardian Angel Tree"

The Mortons ~ Enjoying the good life. 1. After retirement from the Air Force, Jim served as a Vice-President in Cobank, a national bank serving rural America in agriculture, rural electric, rural telephone and rural water loans. 2. They moved to Centennial, CO where they lived thirty-one years. 3. While there, Marge opened and ran a food bank for twenty years and volunteered in an adoption agency for ten years.

Winter storms blow through our towns each year Our hope is that they will do no harm Spring comes again, new babies are born Fresh flowers and trees with enormous charm. M. I. Lusby 4-26-14

Photo by Marilyn Wild Elderberry Tree What would we do without trees? They make the world go ’round Strong and resourceful too Roots firmly planted in the ground. I want to share my Elderberry tree With you on this sunny day He will drop his sweet white clusters As his red berries make a lovely display. Elizabeth Anderson 4-26-14

Historical Photo by John 2014 Koffee Klatch

A Spanish Cove special memory Painting by Linda ~ 2016

Scenes involving Spanish Cove Painting by Linda ~ 2016