Morning after rain

The smoky air and the clouds made for some spectacular crepuscular rays. I missed the early, bright-red version because I couldn't stop staring long enough to go get the camera, but there was plenty of beauty left.

Thunderstorm last night.

That was a storm! Thunder, lightning, gusty winds, and finally some rain. Hope there was enough--it's been so dry that it's really scary to see lightning.

There was a lost fawn running and crying in the neighbor's pasture all through the storm; the cry of a lost fawn resembles the cry of a lost kitten, only louder, more nasal, and higher off the ground. At one point the thunder mingled with the sound of raccoons screaming in the neighbor's barn. A screaming raccoon sounds like a lost soul, with an edge of overheated circular saw. Between that and watching the light show, which included three nearly simultaneous lightning strikes off to the north, it was a very stylish apocalypse.

The human soundtrack didn't measure up. When we turned the radio on to listen for fire news, we got Chicago's You're the Inspiration--it really should have been Night on Bald Mountain or Ride of the Valkyries, at least.

Toby felt it was all a bit much and hid behind the pillows on the bed. Jeeves sat in the window with an expression that indicated the management had been remiss and he expected a reduction in his bill. The other cats dealt pretty well. Daisy, despite a hastily administered Composure chew, spent the entire time barking alarms just in case we hadn't heard the thunder.