Rain

It's amazing how much rain can affect your mood. Isn't it Wa. that has the highest suicide rate? Alaska has got to be somewhere at the top I'm sure too. Those dark and gloomy wet places, it's a must to take vitamin D. or sit under a "happy light", which is a lot like a jaundice light for infants!

It rained most days while we were on vacation or at least threatened to but you know what? Rain used to spell disaster for me but since moving to Kansas, rain is just like sunshine, you learn to love it and I have definitely learned to love it after 2 years of drought. Rain here doesn't usually last long, short bursts of storms roll though and it's back to work...a little wetter maybe but no worse for the wear.

Speaking of the devil, our weather radio just went off. I haven't heard that thing go off in ages, since last summer I think! It's been quiet for us tornado wise so far. I used to think the Mid-West, Kansas in particular, lived and breathed tornado warnings all year. It's so not the case. In fact, Kansas is not even on the top 10 list for severe weather in the nation and while we are centrally located and part of "tornado alley", there are states that get them a lot more often and a lot more severe than us.

Spring started out good in the rain dept. then tapered off just around grass hay cutting time which puts the alfalfa and corn growers on edge of course but without a break in the moisture, the grass hay doesn't dry and the wheat can't be cut, so many American's don't realize how much weather affects their food supply half way across the nation. The wheat harvest was a little late (but certainly within normal range I think) this year due to the usually cold spring (i.e. snow on May 2!) we had. All in all it was a pretty nice winter and one I could be happy with again. It was pretty mild for the most part, lots of snow but it didn't stick around long and really helped us pull us further out of drought.

Then the rain stopped and the heat began. We left watering the garden every other day, staggering waterings actually- one part of the garden would be watered well one day, the other part the next. I fully expected to come home to one dry and brown state once again! We were pleasantly surprised to see that everything was green, really green! And growing! We've gotten regular rain since we got home and aside from one day of watering, despite temps in the 90's to near 100, the garden has not needed water because of adequate moisture from above! Thank goodness! People complain they have to mow their grass more often. I will mow every dang day and be happy about it if it means we get rain!

Yesterday morning I did chores in the rain. This evening Jeremiah was working on the water lines we're putting in out to the pastures (I'll write more on that later). I had looked at the radar a bit earlier this evening and there was a storm growing up north. Storms don't usually go south in the spring or summer (in winter they do which is where we'll get the really cold temps), so I didn't think anything of it until I started dishes and saw it growing and growing and growing out the kitchen window. I checked the radar again and with radar showing no ring of mild green weather but rather a huge ring of pinks and purples, I thought I ought to go out and do chores and tell Jeremiah to finish up. No sooner after I finished feeding the pigs did the hail the size of golf balls start to drop from the sky, the wind picked up and Jeremiah and I literally had to sprint to the house while being pelted the whole way. It hailed for quite a while and the wind was just awful. But then, it rained! Rained and rained and rained, over an inch in about 45 minutes. Oh how we need it so badly! THIS is what summer is supposed to be like, I can even live with the humidity on the stormy days if we get the rain. We're fortunate we didn't get the really big hail. Friends had photos of baseball and softball size hail a little further north. I can do without the hail, it dents vehicles and breaks windows and puts holes in roofs.

The rain tapered off for a while and is back now. It's late, near 11 and I can hear it pour outside. After dinner after the rain had passed, Jeremiah, Drew and I sat in the dark master bedroom eating french silk pie and watched the lightening show out the window with the window open and the breeze coming through. I can't think of a nicer evening than that. Our pond may not fill up this year, but I am hoping this rain is going to pull us out of the drought and get us back on track.

The temps haven't been near as horrid like the past 2 summers. We've had a few very bad days over 100 with a higher heat index due to humidity but for the most part, it's been OK. We're looking forward to some days in the 80's this week and next and after 2 summers with temps over 110 for days on end, even 96 seems like a reprieve.

It appears we'll be soothed to sleep by the flow of drip drops off the roof. It's been a week or more since I've been out to the far pastures but the hay consumption has been way down for the past couple of months so I know there's good eatin' out there.

Time for bed as the short hand nears 11. It's good sleeping weather. Night night.