Hail Storm

Summer time finally came to our neck of the woods this weekend. It was hot and muggy, it got up to 85. We'd planned to have E's family over for an afternoon cookout and the weather was cooperating. People arrived after 2pm, and everything was going well. Until we started up the grill around 5. That's when the summer storm hit.

It started with big fat rain drops. Then it turned into a downpour. And still, we were outside under the umbrella, giggling about the summer storm, counting Mississippis between booms of thunder. That was, until the hail started.

The hail was coming down in 1/4 inch chunks at first. Then they got bigger. And they didn't stop. At one point I ran out to rescue something from under the umbrella, and got hit by some of the larger pieces. It stung, more than I was expecting. The hail kept coming down as we watched from inside the house and Garage-Mahal. And it didn't stop until the ground was covered, it looked like it had snowed.

The rain, thunder, and lightening continued for a while, even after the power went out. And we talked about the phenomenon we'd just experienced. E's aunt had never seen a hail storm before in her life. She'll always remember this cookout!

The next day I went out to survey the damage. The veggies in the garden are flattened. The peas are all bent over. The peppers, which had been blooming and starting the baby peppers, now barely have any leaves, let alone flowers or baby peppers. The lettuce is completely flattened, splayed out like a mat on the ground. And my raspberry bushes, which for the first time in 3 years have berries, look like someone ran over them with their car. It's so very sad.

Another casualty of the hail, the rhubarb and katalpa tree. They have holes in the leaves, like someone shot them with a shotgun. Two folding chairs with cushy seats suffered the same fate.

OK, so, the silver lining. My rain barrels are full. I'll probably still get some peas. The spinach is so voracous that, while the hail did some damage, it's going to keep producing. It's early enough to plant some more for the summer. And, since we don't have the big garden ready yet, we'd bought a farm share at a local organic farm, that is just outside the path that the hail storm took.