Well, the Dog Days of Summer are upon us. And unlike in the recent past, this summer we have seen a strange chemical substance (dihydrogen monoxide) falling from the sky. For those who were asleep in Chemistry class: that would be RAIN. The political forces took note of the amount of rain and heralded the fact that the region’s drought was “over” and that the spigots could be turned on once again. With this announcement, “the hissing of summer lawns” (as described by Joni Mitchell) has picked up in tempo and we are back to watering madness. I think the political folks and the bankers must have gone to the same school since they never seem to learn from their mistakes and their favorite word seems to be “HOPE!”It can be written in stone that the drought days will return and so will another financial crisis caused by those “in charge.” It is just a matter of time.
I am probably in the minority in my appreciation of summer thunderstorms. The sights, sounds and smell of a storm, in most cases, are a welcome occurrence in my view. The highlights include the tall stately thunderheads, especially in a late afternoon sky — an awesome spectacle of color and form. The slow rumble of thunder and the nighttime fireworks are special as well. One of the first meteorological questions I posed to my father as a child involved my curiosity about the distant lightning shows at night, absent an accompanying thunderclap. I was informed that what I was witnessing was “heat lightning.” I don’t know how this term was coined, but it suggests that heat lightning is in some manner different from the more common “window rattlers” that cause your dog to seek shelter in your lap. Now I know that lightning is lightning, but distance is the key. I will say that I have observed that the nighttime shows of “heat lightning” are not as frequent as I remember as a child. I wish they were.
Until next time.
Jim
