Stormy Weather

Two nights ago Austin was hit by a huge thunderstorm. The storm arrived sometime in the middle of the night.  It was a very noisy, wild storm with bright flashes of lightening and banging thunder.  The rain itself was noisy too, coming down in buckets.   My dogs were whining, and Jacob and I didn't get much sleep.  The next morning Jacob woke me up to show me a 3 inch deep river running through the porch, and out the driveway.  There were several toads floating in the water apparently the rain filled up all the little holes in our yard.  It was too cold to make them sing, but it was strange to see toads in January.

The storm got me thinking about how powerful weather is frighting and wonderful.  Nature can be so destructive, but continues to be beautiful and alluring.  I remember as a kid during an AZ summer monsoon storm turning off the lights and opening all the curtains to watch the lightening show.  We would count the seconds between the flash and crash waiting to see if the thunder would be loud, soft, or rolling.  In middle school, some friends and I believed there was an electric or static energy that you could feel coming with the storm front.  It seemed to energize us as we ran around in the cool wind.  In Michigan, I almost experienced a tornado.  I don't know if it was actually a tornado.  But tornadoes were reported in the area and the weather was very strange and violent.  I remember looking up and seeing leaves swirling 50ft up in the air.

• It is interesting how there is such a build up, and climax as a storm grows just like a good story.
• It is interesting how animals and plants respond to storms.
• It is interesting how small amounts of water, ice, fire, and snow are so beautiful, but large amounts are deadly.
• Do you have fond or bad memories of storms, and weather?
• Do you find weather alluring?

Luckily, I have not experienced truly destructive weather, and I wish you all good fortune as well.