Aftermath

My, how calm, how serene. This afternoon’s puffy cumulous clouds belie their fury of only a few hours ago. At midnight there started a gentle rain. By 3AM, the lightning was hitting so close we were almost blinded by its fury. One thunderclap sounded like a big rifle shot right near my head. Fortunately the rain by then was fierce so the lightning wouldn’t set the entire valley ablaze. Checking the gauge this morning showed 1.25" (about 3 centimeters) had fallen in a short period of time. It had been quite awhile since the last rain. Today we planted a couple of trees that had lived in pots for way too many years, and we weren’t looking forward to beating holes in hard ground. Surprise! Soft dirt! Yay.