There is no better feeling than when the first azaleas pop.

I was out previewing property on a rainy morning this week, but it did not feel dull at all. If anything, the hot pink and white azaleas stood out even more against stark gray skies. Spring always feels like this reward we get for surviving the winter, which we know in Alabama is mild compared to the rest of the country. We were, of course, gifted with our first tornado of the season, a sobering reminder that Mother Nature never cuts us any slack in the South. We get weather here in Tallapoosa County, but the March tornado was mine and John’s first true close call with one, in a way. Like everyone else, we watched the news and had helmets ready. The storm scooted over our house in the Madwind and Shady Bay area but went on to touch down and begin its path in Jacksons Gap right at our property on U.S. Highway 280. It missed the main shop by a hair and one tree laid down right against it. It was wild to see all the trees bent over, snapped like pencils, and pieces of metal from our shed wrapped in the pine trees. We got lucky that time, but the tornado pressed on, and other neighbors were not as lucky.