After two substantial snowstorms, we enjoyed a wonderfully dreary, rainy day here in Ottawa. I’ve always loved dark days with rain and thunder; some of my favorite memories of being in old WPA school buildings include those moments when the sky was dark as night outside and the windows rattled with the storm.
A few stubborn piles of snow cling to the grass as heavy rain pounds on Ottawa, Kansas. Tree branches that came down during the February 26 snowstorm still litter many yards in our neighborhood.
Today’s thunderstorm is also a reminder that we’re about to move into the traditional season for severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. If you’re in Kansas and want to learn more about how these storms develop and what you can do to maintain your safety, check the National Weather Service list of Spotter Talks. Their meteorologists do a fantastic job covering the basics of what conditions create severe storms and the precautions you can take at home or on the road.
Diana Staresinic-Deane 
Nice photo. I love when it’s rainy too, especially when we need the precipitation so desperately..
We really do need it. It’s my understanding that the snow and rain we’ve received during the past three weeks doesn’t even put a dent in our drought status.
I didn’t realize how much I needed it to rain regularly until I lived in Los Angeles. One year, we went something like 185 days without a cloud in the sky, and it made me crazy.
When I was growing up, I loved fog. Living in Eugene, Oregon, I got my fill of fog. I always felt my eyes were hungry for light. Now I’ve been in Kansas for several years, I love fog again.
I like fog, too, as long as I’m not driving in it. There’s something wonderfully mysterious about it. Fog holds secrets.
A few years ago, a friend and I were driving to the Ozark Creative Writers conference in Eureka Springs. We ran into the thickest fog I had ever seen – it was like that scene in The Others where Nichole Kidman’s character meets up with her husband’s ghost in the woods. Because we were in Arkansas, we were trying to negotiate tight corners with only a few feet of warning. I was sure that sunlight would reveal the dozens of writer bodies littering the hillsides before it was all said and done.
Hi Diana – just wanted you to know that my mom and dad, Roy and Elsie Mozingo are planning to attend your event in Leroy on Saturday morning. I hope my dad introduces himself but he may not. He was 80 on February 3rd, my mom is 79. I hope you have a great turn out. I would love to come but it is a trip for me down there and I have a busy weekend. I hope if you are speaking close to Ottawa I can attend then.
DEB
Deb, thanks for letting me know! I will try to catch them and say hello personally. I’m sorry you won’t be able to join us, but there are a few more events coming up. Perhaps one of those will work for you!