This past weekend was the first warm and sunny weekend we’ve had so far this year here in Chicagoland, so we took advantage of the nice weather by doing some outdoorsy type of stuff (when we weren’t busy playing Grifball, that is).

Since the forecast is saying no more below-freezing temperatures at night (yay!), this meant that I spent the time gardening… well, pseudo-gardening. There are not a lot of options — or room — for a wanna-be gardener living in a townhouse, so we’re kind of limited to plants that can grow in pots.

This year I’m trying to grow some strawberries, and I also spread some basil and cilantro seeds in a long planter to see what comes up. I hope something grows — those are two of my favorite herbs and it would be nice to have some readily available.

I put my bonsai (the Japanese maple) back outside as well. It had been wintered in the garage and despite some setbacks (it was a little too warm in the garage) it seems no worse for the wear. My little pine though… it didn’t survive the winter. I’m sure if I had remembered to water it it would be fine.

I hope I manage to keep everything alive throughout the season… plants usually don’t live long around me.

I just went out running errands wearing jeans, a sweater and my Chucks without socks, and was quite comfortable.

It’s less than a week until Christmas.

In Chicago.

So yesterday it rained, which you saw in this post. I didn’t have the camera pointed out the window during the worst of it, but it did get pretty bad there for a bit.

Turns out that the storm was even worse just a few miles down the road. Trees were ripped out of the ground and some houses and buildings were destroyed by what is called a “gustnado.”

What is a gustnado?
“A possible gustnado caused considerable damage in portions of Lake County Illinois early Wednesday afternoon near the town of Wildwood as a line of severe thunderstorms raced through the area.”

Storms Didn’t Dent Summer Drought
“Chainsaws are buzzing after freak winds blew down tree after tree like dominoes, damaging homes and knocking down power lines in a far north suburb.”

[edit]: Here’s a really short clip of the worst of the storm. It’s really crappy.

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It’s about freakin’ time!