Summer’s End
September 18th, 2011
In the distance we see the approach of the promised storm. Under my bookmark category marked WEATHER I have eight sites listed. All this Summer I have been regular about consulting the radar maps in hopes that rain may be coming our way. The pursuit became even more obsessive after a wildfire threatened to take our home. We escaped total destruction but had over $30,000 worth of restoration to be done. After a year of not leaving our town, we left what work still needed to be done and took a long awaited trip North to Ohio and West Virginia to see family and yet I never stopped checking to see if rain had come to Oklahoma and Texas. While we were traveling several large wild fires broke out near our town, one devouring 14 houses in its path. Meanwhile in Texas 1,554 homes were lost to the Summer’s wild fires.
Meanwhile back at our bungalow my rain watch continues. Yesterday a storm hit about 5:30 PM and continued for an hour and half. I dissected the rain as it happened. The sequence: wind, streaks off in the distance, light rain, heavy drops, thunder, dense heavy drops with 50 mph winds, hail hitting every window and then gentle dripping off the trees. After which a dazzling sunset painted the sky as if it was taking a bow after the performance.
In a few days summer will be over, an unfriendly summer, a summer of 86 days of over 100 degrees, 4 times the norm. Autumn will not be the usually pallet of green, orange, red and yellow colors but contrasting hues of burnt and drought damaged trees and young green things popping up from the ashen soil.
The Weather bookmarks will remain the same on my toolbar but my relationship with rain will be forever changed.
