Weather Permitting .......

Though we haven't been here long, I've learned that every day is different regardless of the day before. One day can be freezing cold with snow and within 48 hours, it can be 80 degrees and vice versa! We've had 2 ice storms since we've been here and awakened to a fantasyland. Incidentally, in case you're not familiar, those 'growths' in the iced tree are mistletoe. (They are parasites and are attached to the limbs.) In both storms, the snow (ice) was gone by mid-afternoon. Wind is a frequent visitor! It makes a 40 degree day feel like 20! I can hardly wait to see what a windy 90+ degree day feels like this summer.

This past Monday was VERY scarry!! It was one of those high wind days (around 40 mph winds) and somehow a fire started in the next county (Archer County). We saw billowing smoke around noon and noted a road blocked off on the other side of town. We also passed a large grader heading out of town. Later we saw more billowing smoke about 20 miles away. As the afternoon rolled on, we carried on our usual activities until about 9 p.m. when two men from the church we've been attending knocked on our door checking on our safety. Dumbfounded were we, when they invited us to take a gander from the front porch. At least 7 fire departments were fighting the fires! Luckily (for us) Mike had plowed the fields below the house, and our neighbor's fields across the road were recently planted with winter wheat (green and fresh - not dry!). At some point we realized we weren't in the direct line of the fire. You can see the smoke rising and blowing to the right (southeast). Luckily the wind didn't change direction, so we were lucky. Tuesday morning we drove around the area and the fire damage was about 1 - 1 1/2 miles away. Even then, it was closer than I was comfortable with!! We've had a couple of nasty thunder storms of late. In fact last night lightening struck so close, it fried the transformer for the modem. We've been back on-line for about an hour! I'm sure as time passes that we'll experience tornado watches, flooding and drought conditions. It's true that if you don't like the weather in Texas, just wait a couple of hours and it will change.