It's A "Stormy" Weekend in July

 Hello Everyone! Hey! It's the 2nd Saturday in July! What does that mean? Well...it means it's HOT. That's about the best way I can describe it!  LOL.  We have been under a "heat advisory" every day this week, with highs in the high 90's with a heat index around 110...and that's hot, even for Florida.   It's also prime weather for pop up thunderstorms, which have mostly passed us by until yesterday afternoon, and then we had a doozy!!

It's been a long time since we've had a real thunderstorm with extreme lightning, winds, and hail! But we sure did have it yesterday afternoon...and here's just a snippet of how it sounded:

 Here's how it looked on our front porch:

 

I was afraid our umbrellas on the porch were going to blow away, but it was too scary (and wet) for me to go out and try to put them down, so we just took our chances that they would stay put, and thank the Lord, they did.  I was actually more worried about our big old oak trees in the front yard, especially concerned about the possibility of them dropping some big branches or even falling on our house.  Again, thank the Lord they stayed upright and intact!  Thankfully our car was not parked under them, which we normally do on these hot days to keep it shaded, but hubby had already gone out and moved the car out from under the trees before the storm started.   But even still, no branches came down, not even tiny ones! That's pretty much a miracle in itself, because even in small rain storms little branches will blow down!

Those tiny white specks are hail stones. They were about dime size for the most part. Thankfully not big enough to do any damage, but they sure were loud on the windows and our metal roof!

This was the view on our covered back porch! The wind was blowing from the west, which is the side of this porch, and everything on the porch was soaked, and the sound of the hail under the metal roof was deafening. But again, no damage done, praise the Lord.

When the storm started, thankfully Blackie was safe inside the house. He had been sleeping on the couch, but with the first crack of thunder and lightning, he woke up and looked around rather startledly. Then when the hail and high winds started, he jumped down off the couch and stuck his head under the couch, and stayed there until the storm passed by.  Poor baby. He was so scared, but he was smarter than we were.  He knew he should cover his head in a bad storm like that in case of a tornado, while we were running back and forth from window to window to look outside and see what was going on. Sometimes I do believe that animals are smarter than humans.

After the storm was finally over, I went outside on the back porch to look around, and I heard this Muscovy duck making a low quacking sound and running back and forth in the yard, reminding me of a "chicken with her head cut off".   You could tell she was very nervous and shook up, and just kept running around and round making that noise. Usually they are rather quiet ducks and do not have a loud quack. 

Finally, she jumped into the little swimming pool that we keep out there to give water to the critters since the pond is still dry (yes! even after the rain storm it is still dry). 

She stayed in the pool and bathed herself for quite some time.  Finally I guess she felt safe and clean enough to fly away, and I haven't seen her since.

I am writing this on Saturday afternoon, and now as I am sitting here looking out my window in my "Room With A View", I can see the dark skies and hear the thunder rolling around once again. It is also starting to rain. Thankfully no hail so far. I'll let you know if that changes!

Meanwhile, I'm not doing a very good job of keeping up with this photo-a-day challenge. Today is the 11th, and I still haven't done one for the 10th, which was supposed to be "Busy".

This morning our son picked us up in his pick up truck and drove us down to that "Joe's Stuff n Such" place again.  (you can click on that link to see when we went there back in June).  The reason for this trip was to return/exchange a screen door for our sliding glass doors on the back porch.  We had purchased a used one from them a few weeks ago...they sell all kinds of doors, windows, etc., used, and some new, and the one we got didn't quite fit, so we took it back to today and found another one. It mostly fits, but still needs some tweaking, but it will do.  Now whenever it gets cooler again we can open up the backdoor and let some fresh air in the house. That will be nice!  

Of course, no trip to that place would be right if I didn't take some more pictures. I will call this my "Busy" photo for July 10th, because that place is very "busy", filled from top to bottom with so much "stuff and such" you just wouldn't believe it all.  So here you go:

This was the first thing we saw when we pulled up and parked...this very old blue car...

I rather like this shade of blue, but probably not for a car...

Oh! It's a Mercedes Benz! I have no clue how old it is, but it's old, that's for sure!

Talking about old, How about this ancient "Fordson" tractor?  HERE is a link to some information about this old tractor.

Per Google AI: 

"The Fordson tractor was a pioneer of mechanized agriculture, mass-produced by Henry Ford & Son starting in 1917. Dubbed the “Model T of the Soil”, it became the first lightweight, affordable, and mass-produced tractor, revolutionizing farming and largely replacing horse-drawn labor. [1, 2, 3, 4]"  

I think I would have to disagree with the term "Lightweight".  It looks pretty heavy to me! LOL.

Next we came upon these old bathtubs...who wouldn't just love to have one of these? Oh, and I love that old sink too!  (The only problem with the tubs is getting in and out of them...)

Now here is a relic from the past!  Look at this old "Underwood" Typewriter!  How many of you learned to type on an old manual typewriter similar to this?  I did!  They wouldn't let us type on an electric typewriter until we mastered the manual one. Oh, those were the days my friend!  

And I didn't open this case this time, but I did the last time we were there, and there is a very nice OLD antique Singer Sewing machine in there, with an electric motor attached. I am still tempted to go back and get this. I don't know how much they want for it, but I bet it would work better than the new cheap plastic Singer sewing machine I bought at Walmart a few years ago, that jams and breaks needles and literally drives me crazy every time I try to sew anything, so that is why I don't sew anymore! I bet this old one, with some TLC and a good oil job, would probably hum right along like a Singer should! They sure don't make them like they used to!

Here's the last sight as we drove away...the other side of their sign out front...

This was the picture of the other side that I showed last time we were there. Can't read it either, but everyone seems to know what this place is!

If you're curious enough to want to go visit them, here's the information. They are only open on Saturdays from 9-3.  

Well, the storm has passed by...we had a nice little rainstorm without too much drama while I was writing...and now I need to get up and move around, so I will say goodnight, and I hope you enjoyed this visit as much as I did! 

In closing....Here's a song that goes along with these couple of  stormy days..."Til the Storm Passes By"...This can be applied to more than just the weather kind of storms, but also to the storms that we face in our lives from time to time..."Precious Lord, hear my cry...keep me safe 'til the storm passes by..."

‘Til the Storm Passes By

Song by Gaither Vocal Band ‧ 2014

Lyrics

"In the dark of the midnight have I oft hid my face

While the storm howls above me, and there's no hiding place

'Mid the crash of the thunder, Precious Lord, hear my cry

Keep me safe till the storm passes by

Till the storm passes over, till the thunder sounds no more

Till the clouds roll forever from the sky

Hold me fast, let me stand in the hollow of Thy hand

Keep me safe till the storm passes by

Many times Satan whispered

There is no use to try

For there's no end of sorrow, there's no hope by and by

But I know Thou art with me, and tomorrow I'll rise

Where the storms never darken the skies

Till the storm passes over, till the thunder sounds no more

Till the clouds roll forever from the sky

Hold me fast, let me stand in the hollow of Thy hand

Keep me safe till the storm passes by"

Amen, and I hope you are safe in the "hollow" of God's hands every day.