Cattle, Rain and Blizzards Oh My!

I'm listening to it rumble this morning as a thunderstorm makes a glancing blow across the area.  The fog is dense and other than the sound, the only sign of its presence are the diffused flashes that periodically light up the sky prior to the reverberating tones that seem to move across me.

It is warmer than it has been.  It is very still which lends a spookiness to the atmosphere.

Now, I hear the sounds of rain as it begins to fall on the roof and the vents, making a low noise as if someone is sliding a cardboard box across concrete, but with "sprinkles on top" of drops hitting the vents with a light tinny note.  I love to hear the sound of rain in the night or, the early morning before it is time for the sun to light up the sky.  It is not likely to show its face today.

We are fortunate that it is only rain.  We are on the tail end of a system that is bringing blizzard conditions to southwest Kansas where they are expecting heavy snows that might total a foot or, more, accompanied by winds that will likely gust in excess of 60 miles per hour.  Fortunately, the storm is expected to be short-lived.

I seem to write about the weather more than almost any other subject.  Being involved in agriculture, the weather is critical to the crops, the livestock and the people who care for them.  Today, I empathize with my friends in Kansas who will be out in the storm making sure the cattle are fed.  Some may be searching for drifted cattle once the storm has passed.  Many areas have cattle grazing on wheat pasture which is likely surrounded only by an electric fence.  Conditions like what is expected today will cause the fence to be ineffective and the cattle may wander for miles from their pasture.  It may take days to find them all.  Hopefully, they will find shelter and be in good shape when tracked down.

Again, I am thankful that we are only dealing with rain.  We've had plenty of it though and the pastures are saturated.  Whatever falls now will just run off into the creeks and low places.  It won't do much good this summer when it is dry and hot.

It's a good morning to sip on a hot cup of coffee in a warm house.