first rain.

© 2003 dan sandler

---

Thursday, June 5, 2003.

We had lived in Houston for almost two months without a drop of rain. That changed today. Well, actually, we had a little rain yesterday morning, which was nice, but certainly no Texas-sized, window-rattling summer thunderstorms.

[09:15] <dsandler[mtg]> oooh, blustery -- about to rain

Several storms had come through the Houston area in recent weeks, but they all missed us to the south or to the east. This one did not.

[09:28] <dsandler> Man, now it's REALLY raining! Houston-style!

Those little plants usually point straight up in the air.

The squall that just came through lasted about an hour, from threat to retreat. It whipped the trees into a frenzy, and sent sheets of compressed rain flying across the roads and open lots.

Visibility became low.

Distant grousing gave way to the present sputtering and cracking of thunder overhead. Lightning strikes flashbulbed in through the windows.

[09:32] <dsandler> BOOM!

[09:32] * dsandler grins.

Albert and Armand may carry, in the back of their tiny cat brains, the B faint memory of storms in Boston (and one or two from our entire tenure in California). Emmaline certainly hasn't seen anything like this.

I found Armand and Emmaline in their usual undisclosed location.

Albert's hiding spot.

When the storm was done, it was clear that it had come and gone too quickly: the ground couldn't hold all the water, and most of it could be seen rushing down the streets in wide streams, embarking on a long trip back to the Gulf of Mexico.

Come again another day!

Note: This account is for Erin, who's currently at an event in California, where there is no weather of any kind. You're missing it! Come home!

---