SOAKED
In the last 24 hours we have had hours of heavy rain accompanied by the roar of black thunder so loud and continuous that it became a white noise.
Lightning painted the sky in an installation of streaks again and again and again for the whole night. We have had tornado watches, flood warnings and deeply silent farm animals all in the space of one not too sleepy night.
At last, after a watchful night, we are close to dawn, and the rain has abated to a gentler flow, allowing the sounds of insects and early morning birds to begin. 
Before I go off to work I will lock the cows up on the concrete pad. The meat chickens have a good cover but we will still need to be mindful of deep puddles as they are pulled through the grass
The day before yesterday the farmers spread a great amount of organic chicken manure onto our fields and tilled it in. ( it was unbelievably stinky). Very soon now they will plant the red clover cover crop then the Turkey Red wheat straight into that. Hopefully the rain will abate long enough for this to happen before winter starts to awake and cast her eye about. 
How many times so far this season have I started a blog post with the words – soaked.
I am thinking we will be getting a lot of snow this winter. Already I am working on bringing Aunty Del’s milk production down so we can dry her up by Christmas. Milking through this winter won’t work for a number of reasons. The pump is on it’s last legs and I will not have time to carry it through the snow. And co-worker has already announced that he will not milk in the winter. So I have devised a plan.
Time to get to work.
What are you doing with your weekend?
Celi
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It’s on and off rain here; each time I woke up through the night it was alternating between clear skies and rain. Tomorrow a young couple will be here for a second look at the property. If I don’t sell the place by the end of October I’ll be here for the winter. If so then I’ll be putting a hardwood floor in the front room (stuff I’ve milled myself) and reworking the downstairs laundry room to put a shower in. And of course keeping the bakery open each weekend 🙂
Working intermittently, walking, looking around, hoping to sit with some women friends a bit for conversations that have nothing to do with Work. That’s the weekend plan. But it usually gets taken over by working, laying in provisions, cleaning house and, of course, cooking and cleaning again. Ha! Those first two cloud pictures are breathtaking. The second one reminds me of the color’s in a Harvey Dunn painting…but with the paint still wet. x
This time of year is garden harvest time–lots of canning and freezing. Today we will pick apples from the tree and then I will do a whole bunch of sauce and maybe a pie or two. Depending on how things shake out, I may pickle hot peppers tomorrow.
Lovely photos! I’ve saved them, hoping to be inspired to paint some abstract landscapes. Xx
Those clouds! We are having rain all day here. Which is ok because I have to stay home to help(keep them focused) my daughter and her friend work on a school project on biodiversity. They are doing their project on bees. Apparently they are making a papier-mâché bee hive with bees buzzing around it to accompany their written project. I got a feeling I and going to be cleaning up a lot!
Our temps are dropping and our mountains are already getting snow at the pass elevations. Rare for September. Off to work myself, then in a few months I will switch from weekends to weekdays after 2 years of being a weekend worker!
Very similar weather here yesterday – there’s a respite this afternoon, before the deluge returns tonight!
I’m sure your poor dogs are hiding from the thunder.
Deeply silent farm animals is always ominous. I am glad you are through the worst of the bad weather safely and soundly.
Gosh Celi, your skies are incredible! The cloud formations you have shown us over the years…, so amazing! Not much rain down here, and temps through the rest of the month and into October in the high 80s and low to mid-90s. Quite warm! But this will give our fall garden more time to grow. We’ll be putting up pears and apples from our trees for the first time in 8 years, so that’s pretty darn exciting! 🙂 Fruit tree growing is tough here in the Ozark Mountains, that’s for sure! Growing anything in rock is difficult, then add insects, late frosts that freeze the blooms and fruit right off, and then the critters that just love fruit if the fruit does develop! I’m curious about your drying off of Aunty Del plan. I sure do understand your coworkers feelings about not wanting to milk during the winter! 🙂
Heavy amounts of rain near you.
I vaguely remember rain. And storms. Back a long time ago.
Same. The clouds are threatening today, but the threats may turn out to be empty.
I hear thunder coming in again
My word, those clouds! What an intensely dramatic sight, to go with your intensely dramatic weather. I hope all Farmy members stay safe in the deluge.
I admire your photos and especially the weather shots. You must be in a region that witnesses the formation of fronts. Your pictures demonstrate that so dramatically. We are getting into fall weather. Some days of rain and then sunshine. All the crops seem shorter, we’ve had a dry summer. I’m going to a Nuit Blanche in Winnipeg tonight and tomorrow crawling around on trains with my grandson and his parents. It is getting chilly at night here As soon as the sun dips down the cool fingers come out to tickle. Brr. That’s why I’m getting ready to run south. I hope you don’t get washed away. Stay safe.
Typical Pacific Northwest weather here- abit of down pouring rain followed by brilliant sunny hours. Not cold enough to really turn the leaves to fall colors, but almost there! I love how you make such smart plans! Have a less soggy day!
the photo of the clouds above the farm could be a beautiful painting…
have sent in a couple comments about the mama duck , but don’t see it posting in the email. where is my comment?
I don’t know – but I answer them every time
No ducklings sadly -the eggs were not viable – so sorry
We finally got a paltry 15mm of gentle soaking rain all in one day this week. We need 10X that much to alleviate the drought conditions, but it’s a start. No rain in the foreseeable future, though, so if you could send yours our way we would appreciate it! xx
Your photos especially the clouds are simply stunning…hope all is well with you and your farm with not too much damage.
No damage – just rain
A break in the rain today, rain yesterday and predicted from Sunday through most of the week. Not nearly as ferocious as what you’ve been getting! I’m feeling quite pleased with myself, I spent much of the day climbing up and down ladders. First to clean the eave trough on the garage – trees were growing in there! – then to climb up and clean the wood stove’s chimney AND clean out the wood stove. Two of my least favorite jobs ever and no, I do not like heights! I almost prefer wrestling the tire off the skid steer for repair, that’s on the ticket for tomorrow.
Hello from super dry Southern Highlands of NSW ! Two days of showers in more than half a year! At ;east we are not amongst the half dozen towns in the north of the State which stand to have no drinking water by Christmas. And most of the 160 bushfires during our first week of spring have died down. What will happen towards summer !? That said your clouds are picturesque to watch but I would not enjoy the thunderstorms: how many houses are struck and people hurt each time ? Totally off topic: hope you got the Tasmanian Farm Letter I sent you – the owners are growing a new breed of meat AND egg chickens (about 300 pa of the latter) . . . very similar diet to what yours get but, of all things, they add turmeric and fermented milk products to the food mix . . .
I have never heard of lightning striking a person out here. Yes. Mine eat home made yoghurt every day. You can’t have meat and laying chickens unless you are happy to eat old chicken. I like mine young. Meat chickens have a totally different diet to layers. All the meat chickens will eventually grow to be layers but we fatten them and eat them before they become old enough to lay.
There are many dual purpose chickens in the market but good layers are often skinny old birds.
Never having brought up farm animals I only know what I read and see on all the shows on TV. I watch quite a few Lifestyle channels on pay-TV. This Tasmanian bred variety got 1/2 hour of show-time 🙂 ! Bred from two international kinds from different countries : again one local facet to help fight against climate change . . . interesting to me tho’ understand your point re young meat. In Australia there are more than a few reported deaths from lightning every year and the storm warning from BOM always reminds people not only to avoid being outdoors but never near windows or touching doors. Deaths oft occur by the many trees falling atop cars, parked or driving, hurting or killing anyone inside. A Sydney thunderstorm often has 1500-4000 air>ground strikes but the Illinois ones look worse . . .
OH but I miss proper thunderstorms !
These are pretty proper – and loud!
Just 200+ miles south it’s been thick and close, itchy- nosey too, headache weather. My Dear’s moonflowers like it though. They smile at us through the window in the early evening.
Moon flowers? I have never seen them.
Just 200+ miles south it’s been thick and close, itchy- nosey too, headache weather. No rain, but it feels like it, wet everywhere, and hot.. My Dear’s moonflowers like it though. They smile at us through the window in the early evening.
I thought you felt familiar before you were. 200+ miles south of Cecilia is ancestry land for me. Uncles and cousins and on back generations.
Yep, we’re in the neighborhood, though relative newcomers–only 78 yrs.
It was my birthday weekend and my husband had arranged for the kids to spend it at his parents, so I got to sleep extra, drink coffee in quiet, sow carrots (my favorite birthday tradition), and he had made reservations for dinner and a play 🙂 it was the best weekend I’ve had in… years, perhaps.
Great ominous images!
Regards Thom
Wow, those clouds look so heavy that they could drop from the sky. Here in NZ as no doubt you know we too are getting sick of the rain. Somehow I think that if we are getting deluged the you shouldn’t be, but I guess wetness is I abundance right now for us both.