The Hail Storm - Sept 18

September night - 4am.

We awoke to thunder crackling over head as lightning split the sky.

Amirs' suitcase was out on the front porch where it had been sunning. The rain started pounding down as we raced to the Midwestern porch. As we opened the door, down came the hail - beating a tinny, hard rhythm on the air conditioner still in the living room window. Aslan, our gray tiger, beat it to the safety of the basement.

We stood out there loving the hail bouncing off the sidewalk and street. Down came the leaves, ripped off the big ash tree on the parkway. The ground was completely covered. Lovely!

I rushed and grabbed my camera. I was in my night gown and slippers. I tried to get a photo but the screen showed black. I turned on the flash and edged out onto the steps, but it was pouring and I didn't want to get my camera wet. I managed one photo of a little hail and some leaves on the porch steps. Disappointing.

In the morning the storm sewer on the street was filled with leaves and the ground and street were covered with them. I checked out the back yard and the flannel backed cloth on the table out there was pocked with holes cut by the hail, even the zucchini on the ground and had been pierced! The squash plants had all but been flattened.

Happily some leaves remained on the trees. The ash turns a beautiful shade of dull purple in the fall.