A Brief Hailstorm

 

Song:  Icescapes

Artist:  Annie Parker

I was taking a nap in the evening 

when I heard the sudden thumping of hail coming down...

and with intermittent thunder following.

As I keep my windows open for the country breeze...

the thunder was louder than what it would have been with the windows closed...

and so...

when I had awakened and did not see Bandi next to me...

I called out her name.

Bandi then emerged from the 2nd floor bathroom.

Whenever there is thunder...

she will often just lie down on the bathroom floor...

as it is relatively quite in there.

Although the hail storm only lasted about 20 or so minutes...

it quickly filled up my driveway and decks.

There was so much hail in such a short time that it looked like snow had fallen.

The street, driveways, and decks were just loaded with those pellets of ice.

As I looked through my windows at the falling hail...

Bandi accompanied me and sniffed the air

as she looked out at the hail with curiosity.

She and I had been caught out in the middle of a hail storm once before

during a trike ride/run to the top of the mountain and back.

I am sure she remembers it...

and so...

she must have been looking at the falling hail with relief 

that she was not outside in the storm.

As I am typing up this article...

just half an hour after the cessation of the hail storm...

you can see how quickly the skies here clear up after brief storms.

I just took this photo from my computer chair out the left side alcove window.

This is one of the many things I love about where I live.

Overall...

the weather here is very mild...

from season to season.

We average over 300 days of sunny and/or partly cloudy days...

every year.

The storms are generally short lived...

and the temperature....

even in Summer...

is cool and mild...

and in Winter...

the air becomes crisp and invigorating.

It is so important to pick your final retirement location

for the climate as well as for the many other concerns.

My home...

is located in a paradise...

a place which rewards me everyday.

This is so important...

as the vast majority of your time will be spent at home.