Stormy Times

 It's just the 20th of the month with still a full third to go, and we've nearly reached our normal rainfall. As of this morning, I've recorded 4.13" (normal for June is 4.19"). As I type at 1:30 pm, I hear thunder passing both to my north and south. The radar looks as though I'll stay dry for a while longer.

 That's not been the case in past days. Take Wednesday (6/18) evening, for instance. By 7:30 pm, the wind was gusting and thunder was booming just to our northwest. The sky was leaden and heavy and as I ran outside with my camera, the 91° heat of the afternoon rapidly melting away on a stiff breeze.

 Thunderstorms were pulling lofty air down to the ground as I stood there, churning the dark clouds into angry masses.

 These two views (top, vertical; bottom, horizontal) show the storms just as they're arriving. I am shooting to the west, thus north (and the storms) is to the right.

 Sam's farm is behind that tallest tree, about a third of a mile away. As I stand there in pajamas, the air is cooling quickly and giving me goose-bumps.

 This shot was taken a few minutes later, from our back yard, and facing south-southeast. The storm clouds are just passing overhead and I'm beginning to feel the first drops of rain.

 How much did we get? 0.52" when I read the gauge the next morning and another 1.02" in the gauge this morning. All told, it's rained 14 of the 20 days so far this month.

 Last night was a delicious night to sleep. It dipped to just 66° but that's cool enough to calm the HVAC units. There were no wild storms, just garden-variety thunderstorms which punctuated the early morning hours with far-off thunder and muted lightning. I pulled a light wool blanket up and drifted in and out of sleep, sure that all was well with the world.

 If the grass and garden are being watered in this natural way, my work for the day will be less.