watering can filled with water

We had a good chance of rain yesterday evening. The thunder pounded and the lightning flashed. It went from being a bright sunshiny day to dark enough to need the lamps on in the house.

There was lots of bluster with the storm but very little rain. Hardly enough to wet the deck.

Thankfully most summers we don’t have to worry about watering the garden. Our typical weather brings evening thunder storms at least a couple of times a week that bring soaking rains with them. But this summer hasn’t been like that. We’ve had barely any rain since the end of May.

When we are forced to water we have a an old sprinkler we can use and we have long hoses. For the hard to reach places we use watering cans.

Since our forecasted rain didn’t come through we did a little watering late yesterday evening.

As the water filled one of our old metal cans I dipped my hand into the cool water as a relief against the heat. I was instantly taken back to playing in the old washing machine that was behind Granny Gazzie’s house.

The ancient machine didn’t have a top on it allowing water to accumulate inside it. I loved to sneak behind the house and stick my arms into the water as far as they’d go. Granny Gazzie didn’t like for us to play behind the house for fear of us going down the steep yard and ending up in the highway.

Our chances for rain are slightly increased over the next several days. I’m hoping that means our typical weather pattern is slowly coming back.

Last night’s video: The Thread That Runs So True 9.

Tipper

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38 Comments

  1. Hi Tipper, Saturday here in Morristown Hamblen County TN. we had a down pour. Not a long one, I guessed it might have lasted 20 or 30 minutes. it Watered my tomatoes & peppers.
    Our yard and field starting to turn brown. It looks sad. It hadn’t been long that it was pretty green. I’m 63 years old and can’t hardly stand the heat. When I have a wash day, I’ll hang out my sheets and clothes to dry on line. My Mom use to hang her clothes out. She is 85 years old don’t do that now. That is the one good thing about dry heat, it saves on electricity to hang out clothes to dry. They sure smell good when bring them in.

  2. We had two fairly good showers of rain yesterday—one shower came in the early afternoon and the other came right after dark. The evening shower caused our power to be out for a little over two hours, but this was a very small price to pay for the wonderful rain that we so badly needed!!!!! You could almost hear the earth, the trees, the grass and other vegetation sighing in relief during both rain showers!!!!! Praying y’all get some rain very soon!!!!!

  3. Howdo Tipper and bunch. We got a good rain in Southwest Virginia yesterday. We even had flash flood advisory in places. The lightening was a little scary. Weather man says we are to expect showers for the next ten days or so. After being so dry for so long it’s nice to have, with or without lightening. The river is a little muddy but not enough to keep us from having a baptising tomorrow. Picnic afterwards. Always fun. I have my grandma’s wringer washer and when I was little grandma let me “help” wash clothes. I was trying to use the wringer on something small and of course instead of coming out the other side it went round and round the wringer. Grandma was trying to stop it and got her hand caught. It pulled the hide off the back of her hand before we got it stopped. I think we both learned a lesson that day. When I use Grandma’s washer now I always remember to be careful. I had the bestest grandma ever. She never fussed or raised her voice. She didn’t have too. Everyone knew Grandma played for keeps!

  4. We are about to get hit with the storm/hurricane Beryl.
    We live about 20 minutes from Galveston Texas.
    Maybe that should give ya’s a better chance of rain as it goes up through the States.
    My family lives in WVA & Ohio, when we get hit with storms & hurricanes down here, they get rains a few days later as the storms spread across the States.
    (Side note… “Grand parenthood” surely looks good on you & Matt!!)

  5. Grannie Gazzie’s old washing machine out back reminded me of one I found in an empty lot and fully intended to salvage. The thing was all copper! I put it off too long. Somebody else took it, probably to sell for the copper…or maybe they wanted to keep it as an antique. I’ll never know.

    1. I have the tub of an old Maytag wringer (rollers missing) washing machine full of dirt and will plant flowers in it. I also have an old toilet/commode I have been intending to fill with dirt and plant flowers in it. I now have a lot of good intentions but because of the pain I am in everyday from my knees and back many of these intentions don’t get done.

      I am suppose to go in August to have my knees looked at again. I think it will be a waste of time, without going under a knife, nothing can be done. I would joke with my late wife and tell her to just shoot me like a horse, she would tell me I was not a horse and I would tell her I’m a mule’s first cousin, that was close enough.

  6. In southern WV yesterday evening thunder rumbled, there was a couple impressive and momentarily frightening lightning displays and a little wind to whip around and cool things off from high humidity all day. It got dark and we got rain. I’m glad cause watering is wearing me out for about an hour or so every day in the heat. I got in the wringer washer gonna run some stuff through for mommy and she would be surprised. I was about 5 or so and my arm got caught and I was hollering cause it was taking in my hair and hurting… mommy came running, unplugged it and got me out. She said I was getting ready to get my head crushed… and here we all are alive in spite of ourselves…. Love to the grandboys…

    1. Same thing happen to my sister. She got her arm in it and it pulled her in almost to her shoulder. It was just sitting there spinning. It was an old gas powered one and I didn’t know how to shut it off. After standing there dumbfounded I finally figured out that I could trip the catch and separate the rollers. It left a scar where it burned her skin but it healed up so that you would hardly notice it.

  7. Hoping and praying everyone gets the rain they need and their gardens produce bountiful harvests.❤️❤️

  8. Most of Virginia is in a drought. In Richmond, we are supposed to have storms this evening, but we really need a good, soaking rain. Our yard has brown patches, but we don’t water it, as it will turn green after a few good rains.

  9. I remember when I lived in Hiawassee, my cabin faced the east so because of the ridge of my mountain, I couldn’t even see weather which usually arrived from the west until it was right on me. Living at near 3,000 feet the lightening wasn’t shy about popping all around me which could be unnerving. But, it was life-giving rain and we were always grateful to get it. On the mountain, I rarely needed air-conditioning but about 3-4 weeks out of the year. I have since relocated to central Alabama and let me tell you, we need air-conditioning down here from April to October, not so much for the heat but this gosh-awful incessant humidity that saps any energy you thought you had. It’s horrible. But occasionally the humidity plays in our favor and we get late afternoon pop-up storms. We had a line of them move through here yesterday and I was divided between tearing my clothes off and running in the rain and with thanking God for brining it. My grass is like straw, almost burned up from the heat. Something as simple as rain, yet it thrills and benefits us so. I sure hope y’all get some rain.

  10. It is miserably hot and humid here with promising clouds and lightening but no rain–this IS Oklahoma so it is normal for us but where you are located and what you are use to having weather wise no doubt is harder on you than our weather here is on us because we are use to it (even though every summer we all grumble and complain about the heat and humidity as well as lack of rain as if it is a big surprise to us that we have this type of weather lol). Yesterday it went from 101 to 80 in a matter of an hour or two as the threat for rain came–but it really did not cool off anything and the rain did not come. This morning at 8:20 not a cloud in the sky and it is already miserable outside…..but one day, as always, the temps will come down and the rain will come giving everyone a new complaint-“I wish the rain would stop I cant do anything outside..and..it is so cold” lol
    My mom use to say ‘you would complain if you was hung with a new rope’…..actually I do not complain anymore about the weather or much of anything else because the older I have gotten the more I just accept what is and try to be thankful no matter what. One thing I am thankful for is you and your family. Keep enjoying those tiny feet because all too soon they won’t be tiny anymore. The boys are adorable

    1. I can relate real well to everything thing you said in your comment. It is common in the southern states (SC) to have summer weather similar to your Oklahoma weather. Yesterday it was 101 with a feel like temp of 108, breaking the record for the date. It does seem like for the last 10 years or so the summer weather has been hotter and dryer.

  11. It has been so hot and dry here we have had to water our garden every morning just so it doesn’t dry up and die. My husband and I take turns each early morning watering but on the 90+ degree days we gave it a little drink in the evening too. We are on our own well water so we are careful because we don’t want to risk drying up our own well. Thankfully it rained really well last night. It didn’t last long but the time it did rain it was a down pour. I sat and just gave God the praise for bringing us the much needed rain. Praying we all get more rain for all our gardens to grow, our wells and lakes to be replenished, the earth to be rejuvenated and to clear the air. It’s amazing what all rain can do, but then it’s because we have an amazing God who created rain for this very purpose. All glory to God our Father and Creator!

  12. I spent a good deal of time watching the local radar during June. Rain would show up and I would get so excited that I didn’t have to drag the garden hose at least 300 feet to water my garden. I would return to the radar when the rain didn’t arrive as promised and find this area looked like a donut hole on the map. The concrete in Louisville got a few good soakings while we kept getting drier twenty minutes away. We finally got enough rain to help the gardens on the 4th of July while Louisville and southern Indiana had rare July tornados. My neighbor swears the Devil is after us. The bizarre weather and huge population of snakes have convinced me she could be right.

  13. Yesterday afternoon we had a much needed rain for a little while here in Chattanooga. I was at my daughter’s house but my mind was two miles away, imagining our gardens getting a good drink of rain water. It actually might not have been enough to soak down more than the top inch or so of soil but I was thankful for it anyway, and for the few degrees it lowered the temperature for w little while.

  14. In west Tennessee we had a lot of thunder and lightning with buckets of rain. So badly and needed and appreciated. My children and grandchildren are all grown and gone from home. Lost 2 husbands to 2 different wars. So I became a nanny. I keep newborns to 2 year olds and they sure do keep me young and in shape! Can’t imagine not having those sweet little ones and teaching them to walk and talk and sing bible songs.

  15. Morning everyone. We are the same here. Lots of thunder, little rain. We did get a little the other day. But it was upper 90’s everyday, so it dried. Usually our rain is so heavy that our old Oak is surrounded by a little pond, not now. I knew this was coming so I didn’t plant a a garden. I do have herbs and 14 volunteer tomatoes. I have been using buckets filled with rain water. Looks like hose time is coming. I have a lot of trees. Good luck everyone. Anna from Arkansas.

  16. It’s a really hard summer. If you didn’t know better you would think we were in August not the start of July.
    I live in central Texas. We are really suffering. Haven’t had water in creek in a good 2 years. I’m sure God has a plan. Just get on your knees and pray. Grateful for all our other blessing. Hug and kiss those babies.

  17. I am going to try to stop making as many comments but some have mentioned what they did when it would rain. In the 50’s or early 60’s when I was less than 10 years old, my grandparents, mother, sister and me would always sit in a car (49 Chevrolet) anytime there would be a thunderstorm. I think the reason for this was because of mother and my grandparents having a tornado come within 200 yards of their home before turning and destroying their relatives home (Thompson) killing about 5 of them. This was on May 5, 1933. At one time not to long ago it was considered one of the 5 worst tornadoes to come through SC. You can get information about this tornado by googling Belton, SC tornado, May 5, 1933 . Mother and my grandparents were afraid of thunderstorms after this. Mother was 6 years old and grandmother was holding her in her arms standing on their back porch watching the tornado coming straight at them before it turned. Daddy would be at work and I guess in my grandparents mind they thought they might be able to drive away from another tornado. I don’t know much about this but both sets of my grandparents had storm pits. One had a dug out square shape room tall enough to stand up in that had a ground level roof and the other grandparents dug out a cave like hole in the side of a high road bank at their home. You can still see the entrance to the one in the road bank.

  18. We have had an unusually wet year here in WI. So much that it’s affecting gardens and crops. Last year we were in a drought which has thankfully been reversed due to the moisture this year. I know how it feels to long for rain. I’m thankful the next week looks very promising for you in terms of rain chances! God bless!

  19. Dog days have set in here in East Tennessee, looks like rain showers everyday for the next couple of weeks.
    To late for my garden though, only the tomatoes and squash are surviving from the drought we’ve had.

  20. It has been pretty much the same here. I have a Rain Bird sprinkler and have given my garden a pretty good watering twice this summer and today will be the third. It came a thunderstorm yesterday here but with wind and very little rain, like yours. I went to the garden afterwards and there were shadows on the ground. Like shadows in the negative. The rain had darkened the soil between the rows and between the plants but right around the plants was a much lighter color. It was most pronounced under the okry (okree) which has an umbrella shaped leaf anyway.

    Today is supposed to be 91º with a 23% chance of a stray thunderstorm. After that is the promise of thunderstorms for the next two weeks. But you know what? I trust weather forecasters almost as much as I do politicians and that’s down in the 10-20% range, if that much.

  21. Praise the Lord we received a downpour of rain yesterday afternoon after being without it for about a month. We received a small amount of rain the day before and more is forecasted along with upper ninety temps in the coming week. Our garden, grass, bushes and trees welcomed the liquid gold. The grass went from brown to green the next day. The temps are still in the upper nineties but at least the rains came. Also, we have a well which was helped. We put out a couple of fountains for the birds which they drank from. My husband has been placing very large trash bags over a few of the tomato plants to protect the few green tomatoes that survived the deer. He puts them on in the evening and removes them in the morning. A doe with her fawn was seen yesterday walking in the field behind our house. It doesn’t look like they have been in the garden. Hopefully with the recent rains they will go somewhere else. We may still get a tomato or two from the garden.

  22. Plants are starting to stress out here on the Piedmont. It reached 100 outside of the Charlotte area. I chuckled about you putting your hand in the cool water of the sprinkling can. I grew up in NW Indiana-Chicago-Michigan area. That meant water from Lake Michigan–and it was always nice and cold. I miss it. I have city water here in NC. In the summer it is never cool but tepid. I remember the years when we got some rain just about every night. It was wonderful. I once camped through East Africa. I never ever take clean water for granted, especially hot water! I still consider it a miracle to be able to turn on a faucet or spigot and have hot water miraculously pour out! Amazing . . .

  23. It is very dry in eastern panhandle of wv. Our garden is barely hanging on. We did get our first ripe tomato yesterday and looking forward to the joy of eating it!

  24. I’m sorry you didn’t get rain. We had the forecast, dark clouds around, strong wind and “lightening detected in your area”. But no rain. Makes me think of Leviticus 26. My wife insists it will rain again – sometime. I’m having to relearn faith and gratitude, the two lessons I never seem to learn once and for all.

  25. The wind was strong, sky was dark, lightning and thunder all around in the Tennessee valley and it rained about ten minutes at my house. I’m thankful for what we got. Needless to say I’ll be mowing “crunchy” grass again today!
    Everyone take care..blessings to all!

    Everyone take care..blessings to all!

  26. I was lucky enough to get a good rain yesterday in Murphy. Right after the lawn was mowed and weedeated
    looked and smelled so fresh. no rain here for weeks

  27. Our garden isn’t quite as big as ya’lls, so we have soaker hoses throughout. I just turn them on when it is too dry and let it soak through the night.

    Our weather has been off this year too.

  28. I wish I could send some of our rain your way. I live in western NY state and we’ve had so much rain I haven’t had to water any of my flowers and herbs so far this summer. All I have are small containers on my deck. I usually have to water my plants daily to keep them from getting fried. Praying for some rain to come your way!

  29. I forgot to let you know that I am still just loving the book you are reading. I could just picture the cold, snowy night and how it must have felt wrapped inside the corn stalks—freezing, listening to the mice, and waiting for the sunrise. I also watched Corie and Katie eating lunch together. Their love for each other and their closeness is so evident and a joy to watch.

  30. It is very dry here too. Your weather scenario for the evening was almost identical to ours here in northwest Alabama yesterday evening and like you, we ended with some thunder without much more than a sprinkle. Most folks around here got a good cutting of hay (1st cutting), but the lack of rain will hurt hay production in our area this year.

  31. That kind of rain is what a farmer friend of mine calls “a 5-inch rain — 5 drops of rain, each an inch apart.”

  32. We got a little bit of rain yesterday too…barely enough to water the garden. When we were kids, we would run out and play in the summer rains. We didn’t have gutters on our house, so it was fun to get soaking wet running under the downpour that came across our front porch roof. Mama always kept a rain barrel at one corner of the house for washing clothes. We would run around the house and jump into the rain barrel, dunk ourselves under, and jump back out. Mama would have been so mad at us, had she known. I am sitting here wondering how in the world we jumped into a giant metal barrel and back out so quickly. ..I would be lucky to get one foot up in the air now. LOL. I hope you get your much-needed rain today. Take care and God bless!

  33. We have had two good rains this week, last Sunday and late yesterday afternoon. The forecast is for a pretty good chance of thunderstorms for the next several days and cooling down a few degrees (93 today). Unfortunately for many of us in my area it is too late for our gardens and the large fields of corn I mentioned before in some of my past comments. The deer have cleaned my garden out anyway and have now started trying to eat my tomatoes even though they are in cement reinforcement wire cages. According to the news last night, the actual temperature yesterday in Greenville, SC was 101 degrees with a feel like temperature of 108 before the thunderstorms came through. This broke the all time record. I have noticed when it is this hot, a thunderstorm will be bad meaning a lot of lightening and strong wind. The wind was pretty strong, I heard there was some wind damage a few miles away from me.

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