http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20090805/hl_time/08599191445000

Today, Wednesday, it was 95 degrees in the shade.  It was a hot one.  I was singing the praises of the heat, because it has been extremely mild in this part of the world for July, and everyone was talking about it.  The radio said there was a 20% chance of thunderstorms.  Well, BINGO!  I was in the garage on the ole’ interwebs when I heard a thump and bump, a loud bump and thump.  It was so loud that I thought it was a tree limb or something.  I look out the door and I see MASSIVE HAIL dropping out of the sky.  I yell out to Paul, he already had his video camera.  It was very scary.  Scary because I’ve never seen anything like this before…I seem to say that a lot about freak Arkansas weather phenomena.  Scary because you see these giant chunks jettisoning from the heavens, slamming into the roof, slamming into the ground.  The horses across the way were jetting around trying to find shelter.  People, something like what I saw could kill you.  If you figure a GIANT chunk of ice falling from, I don’t know, 10,000 feet?  20,000?  It was no joke.   All we could do was stare up at the sky.  It was dumping rain.  The rain gauge reads 2.5″, but Paul thinks there might have been rain left over in it from the last time it rained, I have my doubts.  It went on for about an hour, afterwards the lightning continued and I was worried that it was tornado weather.  Here are some pictures.

There is a white speck out on the edge of the lawn.  From my front door to the little white speck is about 200 ft.  That piece of hail weighed 1/3 lb.

This is poor little Peter, who took shelter under a tree.  I worry about him now because the creek is up.

Here is another giant chunk in the yard.

Peter, soaking wet.

So, I’m standing in my driveway and start taking pictures in a 360 degree radius.  This is looking west.

Wider shot.

SW.

S.

SE.

E.

NE.

Say what you will, but I do believe this is the largest hail I’ve ever seen.

What I find so interesting about hail, is that the two time I’ve experienced hail larger than a pea, it has been 95+ degree weather.  Along comes a thunder storm, the temperature drops 20 degrees and the ooblick starts to rain from the sky.  It doesn’t make sense.  I mean, I’m sure it does, but I felt like the kids in the movie Jurassic park and the look on their faces when they see the T-Rex.  It’s otherworldly.

Yes, that’s an apple.  I have a wide angle lens on my camera so it throws off perception of scale sometimes, I’m telling you, this hail was otherworldly!  I have already mentioned, but I’ll say it again.  This particular chunk weighed 1/3 lb!

How’s that to wind up Wednesday!

There are times of plenty and there are times of want.  So, in those times of plenty, you must do what you can to preserve the harvest.  That’s just what I did again today.  15 quarts of tomatoes were canned today.  Oh yeah!

It was about 40 pounds of tomatoes.  Mortgage lifters, Roma’s and Arkansas Travelers.

Crazy, I have a headache just trying to figure out what I’m looking at here.

View of the take.

Whilst sitting in the front yard on Saturday, during our weekly farm stand, Paul and I heard a “rooster” sound coming from the creek.  We both mentioned how odd that bird sounded, like a rooster, but it couldn’t be…could it?  The next day, I was mowing the lawn and Paul says “Amanda!  There is a rooster crawling up on the hill.”  I couldn’t believe it.  Where did it come from?  None of our neighbors have any chickens to our knowledge, except for one man who lives two miles down the road and he raises bantams (mini chickens).  Oliver was quick to name him.  “Let’s call him Peter!”  Peter was locked into a call and response with our chickens.  He had to find them and he succeeded.  Stewart, however wasn’t so entranced by Peter.  He made sure he stayed away.  Donna, the polish crested hen, was in love!  She was so interested in him, maybe because he was the new guy.  Every day since, Peter has returned.  It’s nice to see him walking across the front yard, like a lawn ornament, or through the brush across the creek, he’s a wild critter.

Here he’s trying to figure out how to get in to see the babes.

The first pie pumpkin of the season was plucked off of my back fence.  The rest of the plant died due to infestation.  So, I handed it to the little darlings and said SMILE!