kjerrellimages' photostream  

Southwest Virginia and East Tennessee endured several tornadoes Friday, March 2nd. An F2 (120 mph) hit Harrogate, Tn. (about 18 mi. from my hometown of Rose Hill, Va) around 8:30 pm, and then moved rapidly into Lee County where an F1 (110 mph) hit the Ewing, Va. area (about 8 - 10 mi.). The storm cut a 200 yd. wide path approximately 5 mi. long. This damage was done to an elderly lady that works in my crew. The roof of her house was partially torn away, and the window above her bed where she and her twin sister was lying was blown out. Fortunately, neither was hurt. This is her building in the back of her house. Almost all her trees were uprooted or broken as well. Almost every house in this little section of Kesterson Rd. was damaged. You can see the downed trees on the ridge in the background of the photo. The tornado also severly damaged the other side of this ridge in the Frog Level community where several barns, one house, and buildings were destroyed. Several other homes suffered severe damage.

This old house stands in a hollow near the Van Huss Grove community, just a few miles from where I grew up. It belonged to an elderly lady, Mossie Speak, who lived there with her son ( I think, if memory serves me correct).

EXPLORE: 2/18/12 #437

Seeing my wife's Valentine tulips sitting in the window in the warm sun made me want to get out the camera (especially since we are suppose to get the biggest snow we've had all winter tomorrow afternoon). The colors make me look forward to spring, and hopefully better photographic opportunities.

Clinch River / Rye Cove Rd. / Scott County, Va.

This small cemetery lies a few miles east of my hometown of Rose Hill, Va. It lies within sight of the main highway, but for about as long as I can remember, was overgrown. Recently, someone cleared all the smal trees and brush off, allowing the tall headstones to be seen from the road. It is surrounded by a brick wall about four feet high, that, as you can see, is falling down and crumbling. I was about afraid to even lean back against it as I shot some of the photos. The processing was done in Photoshop Elements with a VirtualPhotographer plugin.