Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Summer Storms and More Garden Sprouts

My drive from Great Falls to Helena last night was awesome! Many might not have thought so, but I LOVED it!
Right after leaving Great Falls, heading south on I-90 (Big oops! I mean I-15! Thanks for the catch Mountain Man!) to Helena, I could see a major storm only a few miles ahead of me. By the time I got to Ulm (a tiny community 10 miles from Great Falls), I was picking up a few raindrops on my windshield, and the ionized smell that is associated with thunderstorms was coming in my open window. I breathed deep... that smell is one of my favorites. It has a way of calming AND energizing me at the same time. I know that sounds weird, but my troubles and thoughts all leave my head, and feelings of... how do I describe it... I guess of Life, unlimited energy, natures power... all that and more... energize my very soul.
A few moments later, the first bright flash of lightning.... then another, and another... all around me. The rain increased from a few sprinkles to a torrent in a matter of seconds, creating a loud pounding sound inside my vehicle overpowering the thunderclaps outside. I know they were loud, because I could actually feel the rumbles. By this time, I had closed my window most of the way. I was still getting some rain in the car, but I didn't want to close out the smells of the storm. I was driving along, big grin on my face, passing other drivers who looked like they were annoyed by the storm. They must have thought "Look at the Crazy Lady!" Hahaha!
The rain began to let up, then the storm was off to my left... then the sun came out. I looked in my rear view and I knew I had to stop and get a photo of the storm (please be kind enough to ignore the dust or hair that seems to have been over the lens.):
Looking North:

Looking North West:
And, finally, I turned around and THIS is where I am headed! Blue skies and sunshine!


Once I got home, I checked on the garden. The ground was still damp, but no longer soaked. The evening was beautiful, and the sun was still pretty high so I dropped my keys in the house and went back out to finally thin the row of radishes. I have to say, I did this with mixed blessings. I was so happy to see all these little plants popping out of the ground, and now I was about to yank about half of them out before they really had a chance to grow. I know that if I didn't, the final product wouldn't be as good, so it had to be done. I couldn't help but laugh to myself about the irony. Me, who can't keep anything alive, is pulling green shoots.
After I finished that chore... Ok, not much of a chore as the row is only 7 feet long... I took a good look at the rest of the garden. Oh Joy! The lettuce is dong great and will need it's own thinning in a few days. The majority of the lettuce plants are about an inch tall already. There are tiny green feathery sprouts where I planted carrots, and half inch tall green onions! Now, I am only waiting on the peppers and the parsley to show.
I am a little worried about my pansies, though. I think the deluge of water and the soaking of the soil has taken it's toll. Many are limp, and some of the leaves are turning yellow. I am going to keep them away from the next few waterings to get all the extra water out. The drain holes in the bottom must have plugged up and the pots were unable to drain properly. Pansies seem to be pretty forgiving, so they may make a comeback.
After playing in the dirt, I fed Brookie-Dog and noticed she was nearly out of kibble. I washed up and headed into Helena (10 miles from home) to Wal-Mart. I couldn't help but notice the cool cloud formations over the eastern mountains. It was getting dark, but there was enough evening light to get a photo:
All in all, a pretty good Monday evening, wouldn't you say?

2 comments:

Finding joy said...

Wow! Great pictures

Montana Mountain Man said...

I'm a transplant to Montana, but I didn't know that I-90 went to Great Falls. LOL