Sky Tears

I was at Tractor Supply yesterday. My obsession when I was younger with shoes has turned to plants and the clearance rack of plants calls my name every time! I was in for cat food, I walked out with cat food, 2 raspberry vines and 3 packages of onions sets.

The weather report was calling for rain and severe storms. After last year's "Tornado Watch" which had us down in the basement and me wide eyed and feeling like I was going to have a heart attack, my neighbor's calm and cool demeanor set me at ease. Reading more and more on tornadoes, weather patterns, and conditions I have convinced myself there are only a few scenarios I need really get worried about. That said, tornado watches, warnings and the like are all off my radar so to speak unless specific things should arise and my neighbors have assured me that unless they aren't out on the porch sipping ice tea watching the crazy weather, I shouldn't worry, ha! They said they would call us and let us know if we need to take shelter as weather patterns for tornadoes are pretty specific for the events...built in meteorologists, I like it! We're still watchful but not every little blip sends us careening into the basement any more than any seasoned Californian spends their life under a table or in a doorway.

That said, yesterday I took the kids to town to grocery shop, the skies were cloudy and by 3 PM the horizon to the west was so dark. We headed home to get some onions in the ground before the sky opened up. By 6 PM Jeremiah and  were working in the shop listening to the rain come down on the metal rood, the cracking thunder over and over and the lightening flashing. It tapered off for a while but rained and rained all night long as heavy storm cells went through. The thunder, at time, was so loud it had to be cracking right over our house. I don't think I'll ever get tired of a good thunderstorm.

This morning Jeremiah asked if he could put his boat out on the pond yet. I told him he could put his boat anywhere outside and it would probably float. The weather site said an approx. 1.5 inches but I talked to the neighbor this morning who said 3"! Wow, that sure is welcomed. Boy have we needed this so so badly. We're still not out of the drought, I don't know what the current total is we'd need to bring us out but we're gettin' there and hopefully all this nice moisture continues. The temps have been staying fairly cool, in the 70's and 80's. There have been a couple of 90 degree days and the days when storms are expected, it's so dog gone humid that 80 feels like 110! It's awful to work in.

I have been trying to get the kids early to bed at night so we can wake early to get started on chores. Soon enough it will be getting to 100 by 3 pm and not cool below 80 at night and working at 6 AM will be horrendous. However, Rachel is such a night owl and it stays light here until after 9 and with everything we've been trying to get done, getting to bed at a decent hour just isn't happening ...yet.

Most everything is at least up in the garden. The peas and beans are looking really good and if it continues to stay cool I won't have planted the peas in vein, I was late getting them in because the early spring garden took a back seat to more pressing issues. I planted cabbage and broccoli this year, a first. According to people I've spoken with, cabbage will grow well in to summer here. I picked up some red cabbage in flats but I started my own green cabbage and broccoli from seed.

The meat birds have tripled in size. We're trying to convince the layers we got in February to go into the coup at night but they still insist on being in the chicken tractor. Most nights they perch on top but last night was not a night they wanted to do that.

Jeremiah is on his last day of contract work today. He has 2 days of training next week, one for CPR and one for defensive driving all so he can be certified through the district to drive a 15 passenger van. The district does not have buses, everywhere the students go for school activities are either contracted out or if the group is small enough, they go in vans. He'll be gone at the end of the month for a week for Nationals in Kansas City, I may have mentioned that. He has high hopes of bringing home a National title, it would be the first for the school.

He gets so little time off and as soon as we are back from WV in July, he'll be right back to work, Rachel and Drew will still be off for another couple of months but it is still nice to have 6 weeks off for summer.

I'll end here with just some misc. photos. Back to work, good day to clean and sew with all the rain that's falling/fallen. 

Buck kid out of Granite. We're keeping him at least a season.

Made some planter boxes out of old posts we took out. I have dill, oregano, thyme, cilantro and parsley planted here.

Doe kid- Bourbon St.