The Wonders of Nature

Wonder of Nature #1:
Had a radio club meeting last night. Understand that my radio club is responsible for a repeater in our county that runs a Skywarn network for Emergency Management/National Weather Service in the event of severe weather. Many of our weather spotters were at the meeting in Danville, IN. One of our members announced that we were under a severe thunderstorm warning...then a few minutes later, a tornado warning. Then the sirens went off. At that point, we relocated the meeting from the first floor to the basement of the Government Center, but kept on going. I guess the Skywarn net went on without us! When I left the meeting to drive back to Plainfield, the storms had moved through. The sky to the west was clearing; the sky to the east was still black. In front of me, however, was a beautiful double rainbow. What was really unusual about it was that it was after 9:00 PM!

Wonder of Nature #2:
A baby bunny has taken up residence in my back yard--specifically in my little corner flower garden. He is hiding in it and eating it! He doesn't seem at all bothered by the fact that I come in and out back there. Maybe he's too young to be scared. Not tainted by life yet... He's cute, durn his furry little hide.

Wonder of Nature #3:
In all of the storms that moved through last night, a bolt of lightning hit the right hand of "Touchdown Jesus"--a 62-foot-high sculpture of Jesus at a church by interstate 75 near Cincinnati--and it burned to the ground. (The statue/sculpture gained fame when Heywood Banks [a comedy musician] wrote a song about it called "Big Butter Jesus".) I've never seen it, but Megan and Nathan did. It was a controversial thing. Many considered it an eyesore--garish and distracting. No matter one's opinion, the Internet has been all a-twitter (no pun intended) about the irony of its demise. Some consider it a vengeful act of God. Others say it was simply an expected act of nature. I mean, it was made of combustible material (foam, fiberglass, and resin) over a metal frame, the highest point around during a thunderstorm. Perfect lightning rod! Some of the comments posted online at the end of news stories about the fire were pretty funny. The two that I liked best were: "Holy Smoke!" and "He is resin!" No blasphemy there...

Wonder of Nature #4:
I think the sparrows that spent a number of weeks building nests under the awning over my patio have given up. They alway do. I think they end up building in the gutter and always get rained out. Interestingly, I have NOT had any fledgling robins in my yard this year demanding to be fed by parents that are only slightly bigger than they. Highly unusual. I have robins...just no babies. Why is that?

Wonder of Nature #5:
(This is pushing it a bit. Maybe not a wonder of nature so much as just a wonder.) I had blood drawn today at a hospital lab in preparation for a cardiologist appointment tomorrow. The technician was really good. Hardly felt the stick...and no bruising after. Works for me!!

Well...guess what? We are under a severe thunderstorm watch AGAIN. This is getting to be "old hat". Another day, another thunderstorm. Welcome to the tropical rain forest of Indiana!