Just in case you forgot about summer storms in Ohio...

Well, here it is, Wednesday, and it's been raining off and on since Sunday. I know the newly planted crops need rain, but I figure they aren't going to be harvested next week so they might need that much rain that fast. At least I was able to go hit a bucket of golf balls yesterday afternoon...really had a case of the "Aw Shucks!!" on T-shots on the last round I played Sunday. Fortunately, I did not need a complete makeover, just a tweaking. I've got three golf outings in the next week and they would be so much better with good drives. I know ...... Waaaaaaaaaaa! That's just how it is when your're retired -- you think about such things as improving drives, getting a better pass on putts, and how to really hit that flop shot and get it to stop where you want.

Anyway, I was sitting in the front room the other day about 10:00 in the morning, thinking of just those very things, when a storm started gathering in the west. All of a sudden, it sure got real dark and windy. In fact, it got so dark, the lights on darkness sensors that I have around the house came on and it actually looked like night. Then the hail started to fall. It wasn't that long ago that I completed my weather spotters class for the ham radio club up here and I remembered that hail and sudden darkness and storm warnings usually meant that some not-so-good things were afoot. I grabbed my camera and shot these pictures real quickly. They may appear a bit dark, and that's because the flash went off when they were taken. You can see how dark it was. Fortunately, just as quickly as it got dark, quiet and began to hail -- it stopped. The sky got lighter and then the rains came. The dark clouds went off to the East and we just had a gentle rain for a few hours. Nothing broken. The hail was only the 1/4 inch version, thank goodness.

Normally, old Bailey would have been panting, and trying to get down to the basement. She really doesn't like storms. Well this time, I looked over at her and she was sound asleep by the fireplace. No big deal for her. That's how fast it came and went. I guess that's one good thing about living here -- it's so flat that any bad weather doesn't last too long, and just shoots on by.

Serenity is not freedom from the storm, but peace amid the storm, and the wise man prays to God, not for safety from danger, but deliverance from fear.

Hooah