Still breaking weather records - not good ones

Trying to get this done before it is too hot to be upstairs. Another couple of days well over 100 here – breaking all kinds of records. Any way…..

Monday we actually had rain – and a pretty good one at that. Our first puddle in months! Pretty bad when that is our exciting event for the day!

And a look across the street through the rain. It was really coming down.

Then the sun popped out while it was still raining.

I looked up hunting for a rainbow but couldn’t see one. So I went through the house to the back to see if I could see one out over the valley. Imagine my surprise and delight when I discovered we had our own personal rainbow right in our back yard. I was so surprised I didn’t think to go out on the deck so these are both taken through the screen on the back porch.

Then I ran out front to get Bill to come see it – it was fading by the time he got there but still beautiful. And the plants looked a little happier for the rest of the day. Later that night I happened to look out and saw this colorful cloud.

We are starting to get our utility bills for this dry heat wave – The highest we’ve ever gotten while living here – especially the water bill. Guess we’ll let the lawn go and just keep the plants happy. Looking across the street we see lots and lots of very brown leaves on the trees. Sure hope they manage to make it through the year. We have a lot of oaks and they don’t seem too bothered yet. No watering bans here in our town yet. But they are popping up in lots of towns and they have big fines. Yesterday we headed into Columbus early before the worst of the heat. Needed to go to Rural King for corn for the deer and birdseed – can’t not have that! Also out for breakfast and to Wal*Mart of course for this and that. And to get gas as the prices are on the rise here again. Paid $3.31 yesterday at Sam's Club.
By the time we got home around noon it was already very high 90s. During the late afternoon we got lots of dark skies, wind, thunder and lightening but no rain up here – again it around the hills. At least a few of the towns and farms around us got about 1” of rain. Mostly too late for the crops though especially the corn. The state has disaster area classification for the drought already and very little relief in sight.
Bill went down to the Gallery for a few hours on Saturday during the Art Walk. Said it was pretty busy AND – drum rooooll – one of his little flower pins actually SOLD. How exciting! He has to work there a full day on the 28th.
Got a recall on Willie the Jeep – have to take him in next week for something in the back struts?? to be replaced at no charge. It will take a couple of hours to fix so they will give us a loaner car. The man told Bill to be sure to bring his license and proof of insurance. I guess Bill looked at him kind of funny cause the guy added that about 50% of the people wanting loaners either don't bring or don't have one or the other! Hummmmmm Lovely.
Got our weekly paper Tuesday and now the busybodies in town want to enforce the noise ordinance. (This article took up the entire front page and half of an inside page.) Especially for the motorcycles. A lot of motorcycles come into the area every weekend as it is a beautiful area to ride in. Yes some of them are really loud but don't bite the hand that feeds you. And they spend a lot of money here. Sometimes I wonder…..The comments from the instigators were “we want to go back to the peaceful little town we used to be.” You mean dead and dying? – Without the tourists there is nothing here. The same group has already managed to stop the micro brewery from expanding. [that would have been 50 jobs that will go somewhere else] They complain about outdoor music on weekend evenings. Oh well not my business glad we live up here in the hills.