Lately, my posting seems to be weather related. The last one celebrated a much needed rain. This one however celebrates the fact that a tornado did not hit my house. I will admit it passed six miles away, but that is about one hundred miles to close for me. The photo shows the gathering storm clouds Saturday. What I thought was going to be an ordinary thunderstorm, turned out to be one on steroids. About three PM, Sharon called me from across town (visiting with a friend just out of the hospital) and asked if I had heard about the tornado. What tornado? I turned on the tube and there it was indicated on the radar very close by. Then there were reports that it was on the ground. Time to head for that room without windows I thought. I looked out the bedroom window and saw what looked like smoke. It was in reality, a wall of very hard rain, moving very fast. It reminded me of a wave on the ocean.
As it turned out this was a wimpy one as tornadoes go. It was over very quickly and was an F-0 with 75 mph winds. It was enough however, to rip the top from a mobile home, roll another over and into a third, and uproot some gimongous trees. Fortunately no one was hurt. A second tornado (also small thank goodness) touched down about twenty miles to the north a few minutes later. Minor damage there and also no one injured. I tried to find someone with pictures of the funnel cloud, but could not. It was said to be about one hundred yards wide. Again, small as tornadoes go, but big enough for me.

A Good Soaking

We got a good all day soaking rain Saturday. When I checked the rain gauge around 5:30 in the afternoon, I found we had received 2 1/2" since the previous night. Things have been pretty dry during the fall and into the early spring. Many cities including Goldsboro had enacted water restrictions. There have been a few days in the past few weeks during which time a cloud or two sprung a leak, but nothing like this. It rained all day. I told Sharon that I was thinking of stocking Bass in the puddle beside our driveway. For all those who needed it, I hope ya'll got a good rain too.

Ginger Bread Man Road Kill?

I came across this chalk drawing on a rural road Near Pink Hill. I wonder if maybe a giant ginger bread man got run down. Wouldn't it be weird if it was a milk truck?

Cliffs Of The Neuse State Park

 

View of the Neuse River taken from atop the cliff.
I stopped by on the way home this afternoon. It seemed like I had the
entire park to myself (well, there were a few squirrels there too- and it is a large park).
A gentle drizzle and 50 degree temps probably had a little to do with
the solitude.

Spring Getting Showy

 
Mother nature is trying out her new wardrobe. This Wisteria was hanging over a fence in Johnston County. I love this time of year in North Carolina. The air is getting fragrant. If I didn't have these darn allergies, I could enjoy it more.

"The sun was warm but the wind was chill
You know how it is with an April day.
When the sun is out and the wind is still
You're one month on in the middle of May
But if you so much as dare to speak,
a cloud come over the sunlit arch,
And wind comes off a frozen peak
And you're two months back in the middle of March."
-Robert Frost