1:19 am Sunday, July 18th

And another! I woke with Astrid snuggled up close to me as the sky ripped open with rain, rain, rain cascading down and the crash/boom/crack of yet another storm. And wind, wind whipping through the trees. I feel for the crabapple Richard and I thought we needed to stake just today. The wind has not been treating it kindly. What a drink the land is getting. What a triple feature of storms. And the walls are being lit up like a spook house. I love it. Oh, our poor chickens and geese. Hunker down! And now ... is it moving on or is another chapter about to begin? All anticipation. A high crackle of thunder echoing way up in the sky answers "I'm not done yet." A sky dragon. The rain picks up a snare crescendo annnnd ... fades out. A tease? Yes, it's fading, fading, fading to nothing. A rumble. The giant's worn itself out and is going back to sleep. And so am I.