Two Good Things
So far so good. It's 7:00 pm and we've had a little rain (.45 in.), a little hail, some wind, and no tornado here. This morning's weather story on the NOAA page had us on the edge of an area marked "Area of greatest concern for possible long-track strong/violent tornadoes." Not reassuring. We have a tornado watch till 11:00 tonight.
A 69 mph wind gust was reported at the Hutchinson airport, and power lines and trees were down around Hutchinson. North of us, in Nickerson, it must have been more violent too. A tornado warning was issued for Barton County--to the northwest, with some tornado damage reported from there. Apparently quite a few people are without power in our county--customers from three different power companies. Several area graduations scheduled for tonight were called off.
Here at our house, I think we were both lucky and unlucky--no storm damage, but not much rain either. The first storm flew by at 75 mph, according to the weather service, and at that speed, there's not much time to drop rain in any one area.
I heard that Oklahoma had tornadoes west of Oklahoma City, but so far, I haven't heard more details.
********************
We were watching the storm from the dining room, poised to hurry to the basement if necessary, when I saw something I've never seen on this place before--a hummingbird sipping from a feeder. I put it up last week, regretting that I hadn't gotten it done long before, and guessing that all the migrants had already passed by. Only once or twice have I ever seen a hummingbird here, but I've heard of a few people who have been able to attract them to feeders, and I wished I could manage it too. And now it's happened. This makes me ridiculously happy.
The light was bad at the time, and I couldn't really see any color, but I assume it was a Ruby-throat, since these are almost always what people see around here. Verna Mae once saw an Anna's, however.
******************
The death toll from the Joplin tornado was at 116, according to this morning's paper. I also heard that the storm was officially classed as an F5--the strongest category.
It's hard for me to believe that some people in Joplin apparently heard the tornado sirens and took no measures to get to a safe place. They were that sure that no such terrible thing would happen there. A few of them survived to tell the tale. That's how I know it happened. This is carrying the "Show Me" state slogan a little too far, I think.
There's a joke about Kansans that says "If there's a tornado warning and you hurry outside to see where it is, you may be from Kansas." Although there's probably an uncomfortable amount of truth to that characterization of Kansans, I think there is also a very healthy respect for how dangerous tornadoes are. I can't imagine anyone "blowing off" a tornado warning, thinking it is OK to take no action whatsoever.
*******************
Harold N. is in the hospital with an infection, possibly caused by a tick bite he got about a week ago. I don't know further details about this, but am concerned and praying.
*******************
We invited Brandi into the house when the storm came through earlier today. She didn't respond eagerly to the invitation, but a short time later she discovered a bit of beef fat on a foam tray Hiromi had put by the trash can, planning to take out the trash right away. He got delayed somehow, and Brandi was quite proud of the treasure he left her. We put her out after the first weather wave passed and then invited her in again when the second one arrived. That time she was very pleased to come in, and trotted straight over to the spot where she hoped more good fortune awaited her. No such luck.
Shane left us some of the high quality dog food he always feeds his dogs, and we offered it to
Brandi in a dish on the porch. But Brandi has a mind of her own on the matter. She sneaks out to the back of the house for the cheap dog food Hiromi puts out for the cats. But it all works out because Bandit, who loves to follow the tractor and grinder over here with the hog feed, appreciates the good dog food he finds on the front porch when he visits.
*********************
It just started raining again in earnest, and we've had a pretty good peppering of pea to marble-sized hail, but it's all rain now--no hail. This is the heavy rain we've been dreaming of for months. Later: We've had another .7 inch!
A 69 mph wind gust was reported at the Hutchinson airport, and power lines and trees were down around Hutchinson. North of us, in Nickerson, it must have been more violent too. A tornado warning was issued for Barton County--to the northwest, with some tornado damage reported from there. Apparently quite a few people are without power in our county--customers from three different power companies. Several area graduations scheduled for tonight were called off.
Here at our house, I think we were both lucky and unlucky--no storm damage, but not much rain either. The first storm flew by at 75 mph, according to the weather service, and at that speed, there's not much time to drop rain in any one area.
I heard that Oklahoma had tornadoes west of Oklahoma City, but so far, I haven't heard more details.
********************
We were watching the storm from the dining room, poised to hurry to the basement if necessary, when I saw something I've never seen on this place before--a hummingbird sipping from a feeder. I put it up last week, regretting that I hadn't gotten it done long before, and guessing that all the migrants had already passed by. Only once or twice have I ever seen a hummingbird here, but I've heard of a few people who have been able to attract them to feeders, and I wished I could manage it too. And now it's happened. This makes me ridiculously happy.
The light was bad at the time, and I couldn't really see any color, but I assume it was a Ruby-throat, since these are almost always what people see around here. Verna Mae once saw an Anna's, however.
******************
The death toll from the Joplin tornado was at 116, according to this morning's paper. I also heard that the storm was officially classed as an F5--the strongest category.
It's hard for me to believe that some people in Joplin apparently heard the tornado sirens and took no measures to get to a safe place. They were that sure that no such terrible thing would happen there. A few of them survived to tell the tale. That's how I know it happened. This is carrying the "Show Me" state slogan a little too far, I think.
There's a joke about Kansans that says "If there's a tornado warning and you hurry outside to see where it is, you may be from Kansas." Although there's probably an uncomfortable amount of truth to that characterization of Kansans, I think there is also a very healthy respect for how dangerous tornadoes are. I can't imagine anyone "blowing off" a tornado warning, thinking it is OK to take no action whatsoever.
*******************
Harold N. is in the hospital with an infection, possibly caused by a tick bite he got about a week ago. I don't know further details about this, but am concerned and praying.
*******************
We invited Brandi into the house when the storm came through earlier today. She didn't respond eagerly to the invitation, but a short time later she discovered a bit of beef fat on a foam tray Hiromi had put by the trash can, planning to take out the trash right away. He got delayed somehow, and Brandi was quite proud of the treasure he left her. We put her out after the first weather wave passed and then invited her in again when the second one arrived. That time she was very pleased to come in, and trotted straight over to the spot where she hoped more good fortune awaited her. No such luck.
Shane left us some of the high quality dog food he always feeds his dogs, and we offered it to
Brandi in a dish on the porch. But Brandi has a mind of her own on the matter. She sneaks out to the back of the house for the cheap dog food Hiromi puts out for the cats. But it all works out because Bandit, who loves to follow the tractor and grinder over here with the hog feed, appreciates the good dog food he finds on the front porch when he visits.
*********************
It just started raining again in earnest, and we've had a pretty good peppering of pea to marble-sized hail, but it's all rain now--no hail. This is the heavy rain we've been dreaming of for months. Later: We've had another .7 inch!
posted by Mrs. I at
5:06 PM
1 Comments:
I am so excited for you about the hummingbird!
I am very happy about the one, ( and once or twice there were 2!) that comes to our feeder almost daily! It's so special after a number of years of trying to attract them!
By
Susanna Y., at 5/24/2011
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