Lights Fantastic

Written on Wednesday, Jan. 25th, 2012. Sherwood Forest, TX.

Last night we watched the most fantastic lightening storm I’d seen in quite some time. It didn’t seem like it would rain that evening when, while walking home after a visit with Ryan, I stopped in the clearing to stare at the stars.

Because Sherwood is practically in the middle of nowhere there is no imminent light pollution, and so on a clear dark night one can look up as I did last night and see a sky filled with stars. It is almost as starry as a desert sky. It made me miss Arizona.

However, the clear night didn’t last long. Soon, clouds rolled in and we heard distant rumbles. I went to sleep, but woke up often through the night, and each time I awoke, the weather had advanced a little more. First, I woke up and noticed lightening far off to the south-east. I woke up again to see the lightening on the edge of our camp. The third time I woke, the lightening flashed right above us.

While the lightening flashed above us I lay there and wondered about John’s computer, which was plugged into Squatch’s power and sitting on a chair on the deck of his shop. His shop is covered, but the roof is very high. I figured the computer would be okay so long as it didn’t storm like crazy.

Then it started to rain, a light, pleasant spring drizzle. I thought, “This isn’t bad, I shouldn’t worry.” Well, around 5am it began to pour and John got up and we decided to rescue the computer. I dressed him in a hippie rain-coat – a trash bag with a hole for his head – and sent him out. He got back just as the real nasty bit of storm hit, the computer perfectly fine thanks to Squatch’s considerate thought to throw a blanket over it.

We stayed up, listening to the storm. The rain battered against the roof of the van, the wind howled and roared and up in the sky was a pyrotechnics show like nothing I’d ever seen. Light flashed constantly, lighting up the world like a disco party on acid. It hailed for a few minutes, and after that I waited in tense anticipation for the wind and the rain to suddenly cease, and then to hear the characteristic train-roar of an approaching tornado.

The storm swept past by around 6am, though, and no tornado visited, though we heard of warnings the next morning at breakfast. When I looked into my stock-pot I left outside that night, at least three inches of water sat in it. We fared well in the campground, however; we’re pretty much on a hill, so all the water drains away from us. We’re not sure how our shop – still in Toon Town – fared, however, considering the last time it rained like that down there, the creek came within three feet of Squatch’s yurt, and water flooded Ryan’s yard.

I’m positive the shop is fine. It’s not like that steel is going anywhere.

Right now it’s drizzling and cloudy outside. The temperature dropped a couple of degrees, but it isn’t a chilling sort of cold. Mostly, it’s just damp. Tonight, however, may be a two-blanket night. Colder weather to come, for sure, before this show is over.

Stay warm!

Peace.