Stormy Green Twilight

It has rained intermittantly for the past 24 hours.

[As if we needed more rain!]

There have been frequent tornado watches this spring for several Kentucky  counties including the one where we live.   We've been told that it is rare for a tornado to touch down in this area, although "straight-line winds" can do damage.

Twilight tonight was painted in the strange eerie green hues that attend stormy weather.

I used several different camera settings for the following photos--none of them quite capture the reality of the rapidly shifting light and clouds.

The skyline looking south down Big Creek Valley.

The last rays of daylight struck up a shimmery haze.

Note the puddles in the grassy area of the back yard.

A wider "landscape" shot of the valley.

Rain-battered flowers hold their colors in the green dusk.

A final photo of the Big Creek Valley taken just as the rain broke again.

Daughter G. who is a decidedly dramatic personality, has been anxious about the possibility of a tornado

sweeping in and, as she puts it, "hurling a telephone pole through the front window of the motor home."

She, M. and their 2 dogs and 3 cats have been domiciled in the big motorhome which is parked just outside under the maple trees.

G. insists that the nightly wind and rain are buffeting the motorhome and keeping her awake with fears that she will be blown away to kingdom come~!

J. follows the progress of storms with an on-line doppler site, really monitors it during severe storms.

Rather than reassuring G. that all is likely to be safe, he has this evening been teasing her.

This has resulted in her moving the 3 cats into the spare bedroom to sleep with grandson D.

They have been keeping me company as I type.

G. has made herself a cozy space in the basement family room which she considers to be a safe refuge.

She has piled the daybed with a duvet, one of my woolen blankets, extra pillows.

She brought in her small radio and tuned it to a low-key all night station.

Her books are stacked invitingly by the rocking chair and the lamp is turned on.

Oh yes, since their mattresses and box springs have been stored in the family room she has laid down a mattress for M. and provided him with a quilt and two pillows.

J. is now teasing her that if the wind blows tonight we shall all move downstairs and sleep with her.

I daresay we could take down the kettle and make midnight tea!

I am not a person who enjoys storms.

In the year and a month that we have lived here there have been some torrential rains,

some wind, a very brief hail storm or two.

Each place we have lived--Vermont, Wyoming, and now Kentucky--has its own climate issues, spells of weather that call for a bit of planning ahead, dealing with whatever the elements bring us.

When we read of natural disasters in other places there is always the guilt-tinged relief that our own homes are spared. 

Tonight I can be thankful that the roof doesn't leak, the basement drain is unstopped

and we have room for everyone to sleep comfortably in this little house.