It was fury in the foothills most of yesterday and well into the night.
The rain started as I was driving home after dropping Herself at the Sunport. Then came the wind, a few rounds of dime-sized hail shotgunning the backyard maple (which shed leaves and one sizable dead limb) and the roses (still plenty of them left for the deer to eat), and more rain.
And finally the light show captured above.
Herself’s flight to Maine was not without drama. First Southwest couldn’t fuel her plane because of lightning. Then the fuel truck didn’t have enough go-juice to top off the tanks, so another had to be pressed into service.
By the time she got off the tarmac an hour late it was clear that making her connecting flight in Baltimore was going to be iffy. The plan had been to grab a bite to eat and chill a bit between planes, but you know what they say about plans.
So Herself touches down with just enough time to hit the bathroom, join the queue for boarding, and find her seat … after which there was another extended wait for a couple dozen passengers who had been delayed for reason(s) unknown. She could’ve had a sitdown meal, an adult beverage, and a nap, but nooooo. …
The long and the short of it? A flight that was supposed to arrive at stupid-thirty in Portland instead touched down at extra-double-stupid thirty.
And it’s raining there, too.
I stayed up way past my bedtime to provide moral support encoded in bad language. Once Herself was finally settling into her hotel room I turned out the light and … and then Thor turned it back on, as you see.
The flickering electrical display that brought me out of a fitful doze was utterly silent. No thunder at all. Thor was pulling his punches. Or maybe Mjölnir needed recharging. Odin knows I do. And Herself still faces a couple hours in a car this morning before she reaches what the airlines like to call her “final destination.”
Whenever the Thunder God gets his iHammer back up to four bars maybe he can have a couple swings at Beelzebozo. The senile old fool currently propped up as “president” of the “United States” doesn’t know what the Declaration of Independence means or what the Constitution requires of him.
Riders on the storm, indeed.
Mad Blog Media 
Was quite the light and sound show up here. I barely made it back from a short and aborted bike ride before the skies opened up. I ran out to the cold frame I am installing over a new raised bed I am building and put the cover on the plants when the hail got serious.
Went out this morning and saw the bird baths were full, the rain barrels overflowing, and two inches of rain in a pail we use to collect recycling before putting it in the Blue Bin by the road. That’s a real rainstorm.
First real rain we have had in god knows how long, and I am not complaining.
I ain’t complaining either. Haven’t used the irrigation system in a week. Looks like we might get a few more days of precip’, so maybe I can continue this winning streak.
Don’t you hate tracking their flights and progress knowing there is really not much you can do to help save digital moral support? When my smarter half went to Kentucky to visit kinfolks, I did much as you. Phone, texts, flight tracking until she finally got to the farm was my drill.
As far a bratman is concerned, pounding coarse and very abrasive sand comes to mind.
Yep. About all I can offer is faster web searches for weather, route distances, changes in departure/arrival times, room availability/registration, etc. It’s a lot easier on the 24-inch monitor with a real keyboard than it is on an iPhone.
Also, I forward pix of our cute lil’ kitty-cat, who finds herself in the palsied mitts of that baldheaded incompetent layabout who takes his coffee black.
I’ve got a 20 lb bag of sand/gravel mix, funnel and heavy mallet ready in case Baby Hitler stops in for some grifting practice. You know, like “Hi Herb. Say… my new Cybertruck broke down out in front of your place and I just happen to have a load of bibles, sneakers, medallions and bitcoin I need to move real quick. Make you a biggly deal Herb. Not interested? Ok I’ll throw in Greenland. “
He shoots, he scores!
Quiet lightning is always a fascinating thing. Especially when you’re trying to sleep.
Flying? Nope ! Sorry, but as of a couple of days from now I’ll be a passenger non-grata in the skys above. At least as far as the commercial flights go. I can still charter the Leer if I need it. And I think the bus lines might still allow me aboard. Although traveling by bus might require an extra vaccine or two. But if I do decide to update my confirmed accepted citizen status, and attempt the friendly skies, I’ll remember to pack my sleeping bag and patience.
It’s good to hear that your smarter half avoided the blackhawks enroute and finally alighted safely. Is she by chance traveling to visit Mr. King and offer technical expertise for his latest horror bestseller?
It was weird, for sure. Like a full moon erratically in partial eclipse thanks to tree limbs flogged by the wind. Or a police helicopter swinging its searchlight around (had one of those wake me up in Tucson back in 1980).
When I finally got up to see what was what, it looked like Martian tripods zapping fleeing humans in “The War of the Worlds.” Made for interesting dreams.
Not getting the Real ID? I got mine for reasons that elude me, since I haven’t flown since 2014. As for Herself, a friend is checking up on her family’s vacation house in Maine (the brother who was its caretaker passed away suddenly), and she thought her pal might like some company in case bro is haunting the joint. It is Stephen King country, after all. …
Yes Martians came to my mind as well. Aren’t there cowboys up in them thar hills? Maybe it was a big shootout.
We’re one rider short here in NOCO.
https://www.coloradoan.com/story/news/2025/04/28/crash-west-of-fort-collins-near-horsetooth-mountain-park-kills-cyclist/83327541007/
A 61-year-old man was driving a Honda motorcycle eastbound on 38E and passed another motorcycle as he approached a left-hand curve, Colorado State Patrol Trooper Gabriel Moltrer told the Coloradoan.
He was unable to negotiate the curve and drove onto the right shoulder, where he collided with a 68-year-old man riding a Trek bicycle.
https://www.coloradoan.com/story/news/2025/04/30/fort-collins-cyclist-killed-in-crash-west-of-city-identified/83358748007/
A Fort Collins cycling community leader, Ian Dickinson, has been identified as the person killed in an April 27 crash near Horsetooth Mountain Open Space.
Dickinson, 68, was an active member of the cycling community and led a weekly group ride on Fridays for more than a decade.
He was a persistent advocate for road safety, said fellow cyclist and friend John von Plutzner.
The ride Dickinson led was a “no-drop” ride, where nobody is left behind if they can’t keep up, so it’s less competitive than other weekly group rides in Fort Collins.
Dickinson facilitated camaraderie and skill building, and he was very protective of his fellow riders, calling out drivers when they came within three feet, von Plutzner said.
Dickinson had recently posted in a cycling Facebook group to warn others about roadwork that made a certain route worth avoiding.
He also often reported problems to local police and sheriff departments to encourage enforcement of laws that protect cyclists, von Plutzner said, and he usually had his bike-mounted camera rolling when he was out and about.
Damn it. And it goes without saying that the dude on the scoot lived.
CSU is one of like 5 platinum certified bike friendly state universities. Fort Collins and Boulder are always on the top 10 list for bike friendliness. And I cannot recommend biking on anything other than paths and trails in this town. Exercise? get a mountain bike. Or a trainer in your garage. Commuting? Get a sport utility hauler with a big orange flag and stay on the sidewalks. Just want fresh air? Get a dog and walk through a park, touch grass the whole way. But a bike? In 2025 ‘Merica? Puh-leeze.
Nine times out of nine, if you’re in a bike lane, you’ll have to merge into traffic to pass a cop taking a break in said lane. Or dance through a mile’s worth of LandYachts all in march-step, using their V8 Hemi to charge their iPhone while they wait to pick up Junior from school. Or bunny hop the curb to avoid getting hit by a 16.01 year old with a license still warm from the laminator.
And why is it, two people crash into each other, it’s always the good guy who gets the short straw?
Shit. We had a crash up in the Jemez Mts. some years ago. A bunch of bicyclists from the LANL lunch ride were headed around a hairpin up on NM 4 in one direction and a bunch on motorcycles headed the opposite direction. Everyone headed around the hairpin in deep leans. Several of each group got intersectionally horizontal, but fortunately, no fatalities although there were some broken bones.
Had two massive hailstorms up here yesterday (first one left an inch of hail on the street in front of the house) and lost power for 8 hours. Lit the gas stove with matches to make dinner, given the little sparkies are electrical, and cooked and ate all by the light of my old Coleman lantern I never parted with. You never know when you’ll need it.
After many years of putting up with power going out in relatively benign weather at times, I caved and bought a Honda 6500 generator. Ha! Take that Weather Gods! Well I’ve only used it twice here in six years. It’s spent more time on loan to others in need but it has been a solid good luck charm. Keeping it since the backup battery to our solar array will only get us through maybe a full day/night in winter conditions if there is no sun. We grow a fair bit of food and must keep two freezers going. And be able to use the well pump. Outside of that the old camp gear can pull duty.
That Honda is noisier than I thought however so in summer it can get on your nerves. But it seems pretty thrifty on gas consumption compared to my neighbors.
This one? We were looking at some homes east of Asheville, NC. A lot of them came with generator backup because the power was really spotty depending the weather.
https://powerequipment.honda.com/generators/models/em6500
Very, very sad.