Nature's Alarm Clock

I was wakened by a huge crack of thunder that was quickly followed by torrential rain. Because it was so dark, I thought it was early in the morning, so I looked over at the desk only to find that Nettl wasn't there, as she usually is in the mornings before she goes to work. I looked at the clock and realized we were in the midst of a storm. Cool! In the time it took me to go downstairs to put on the coffee, the hail started coming down, pummeling the windows in the dining area so fiercely, I was afraid one might get broken. Fortunately, we have those windows that have a metal "paned" grid between two sheets of glass. I looked outside and saw that the hailstones were golf ball sized and larger. I've always heard of tennis ball and baseball sized hail, but I've never seen it. The noise was so deafening that it woke up Micah, and he came out into the living room.

It was then that I realized I hadn't seen the cat, so I opened the veranda door and in she slinked, soaking wet. She'd been hiding under a potting table. I dried her with a kitchen towel and she was none less for the wear, but to be sure she wasn't too traumatized, I gave her some of her Catty Shack treats.

The storm is over, but what a way to start the day! The photo is of two hailstones that lie melting on the veranda table. Click to embigify.