cheerfulAfter getting my haircut, I walked to the post office and stopped at Family Dollar for a few odds and ends. Walking home, I discovered just how much rain we got in the huge thunderstorm than rolled through a couple of nights ago.
A couple of nights back, just as I was going to bed, I saw a flash flood warning and severe thunderstorm warning come across from the National Weather Service in Reno. Sure enough, it was a a lot of rain and came very quickly. Lightning lit up the sky and thunder rolled around. I was very glad that I was inside and that our house is on relatively higher ground.
Just down the street from us is the Imerys diatomaceous minerals plant. across the street to the south of their plant is a vacant lot in which big rigs often turn around. However, in wet weather like earlier this week, the lot, which appears to be a local low spot, turns into a shallow pond. In the winter, this area typically stays wet all winter long. If it got a little bit colder than it usually does here, you could ice skate on the pond in the winter. I keep meaning to make a sign that says "No fishing or swimming."
The heavy rain washed a whole lot of the smoke out of the air and made the next day feel more like mid-autumn than summer. The smoke is coming back, although it's worse in Reno, and of course much worse to the west. And compared to the poor folks in Texas and Louisiana, we've got nothing at all to complain about.