Saturday, July 24, 2021

An Inch and Three-Tenths!

 That's how much rain we got last night in about ten minutes.  Welcome though the long-awaited rainfall was the fierce thunder/lightning storm did some damage.

Yep, our lovely stand of corn got pushed over by the strong winds coming directly out of the west.  Because we had the corn patch surrounded by the cattle panel "cage" none of the stalks hit the ground, but the west half smooshed over onto the east half which stayed standing by leaning against the firmly anchored cattle panel.

I had to go out today and stake up a dozen or so of our sunflowers that were left leaning at about a 45° angle.  None of them snapped off so they should be alright.

The rain came down in such a torrent that we lost some nice black soil which washed off the blueberry patch and into the grass.  I usually mulch the whole patch but didn't this year.  If I had, there would have been no erosion.

It seems our alternative energy solar system may have been zapped by lightning.  During the rapidly passing storm, we lost power and haven't been able to get it back yet today.  (We still have the option of running on grid power in a situation like this.)  Papa Pea has done everything he knows to do trying to track down the problem, and we have an e-mail explaining the problem to our alternative energy guru but have not heard back from him yet.

After having a few days when the temperature was almost tolerable, today finds us back into the (nearly) intolerable temps.  Add to that, there's been a stiff breeze blowing all day (a hot, hot breeze, not cooling in any way) and both of us find that being outside in a wind takes the stuffin's right out of ya.  After I came in today from staking up the sunflowers and checking a few other things, I felt slightly sick and it was a while before I felt good again.

Oops, wouldn't ya know it.  I just looked out the window and see another sunflower that has taken a nose dive.  I'd better go out and stake it up before I forget about it.

We're thankful for the rainfall that came with the storm though.  Now if Mother Nature would just get back on a schedule of giving us some soothing rains on a regular basis . . . and nix on the wind, please.  And lightning.

14 comments:

Granny Sue said...

We need rain here too. It's so dry we're back to daily watering. My flowers are really suffering but so far the vegetable gardens are okay.

What a shame about your solar power. I do hope you can resolve the problem--and inexpensively.

tpals said...

I wish we had gotten some rain. :( We won't even get out of the 90s/100s for highs until next Friday. I'm sorry about your power; hope there's a magic reset switch.

Michelle said...

I didn't realize that you guys operate mostly off-grid! Kinda jealous of that and your rain, but not the wind and lightning strike. Don't get yourselves sick working in unseasonably hot weather there; not worth it as it leaves you more susceptible in the future.

Susan said...

I wish that I could send you even half of what we've been getting here. We finally got two days in a row of no rain (!) but I woke up to rain today. Glad nothing was totaled in the garden with the wind. And I hope you have heard back from the solar guru.

Leigh said...

Hurray for rain! I know what a relief it is. Sorry about your blueberry soil; I do things like that too (and always end up regretting it!)

I hope you figure out about your solar. That's a concern for all of us with solar power. Was everything grounded?

SmartAlex said...

Wow. That's a downpour. Don't you just hate when you ask Mother Nature nicely for something good and then she whips it at you? Geez. Sorry I asked.

I've always found that when I am used to being without rain for awhile, the overall destruction of it is a shock. Especially when accompanied by wind.

Mama Pea said...

Granny Sue - It's always sad to see the flowers suffering from lack of moisture, but bottom line, it's the veggies that will sustain us so good to hear yours are okay so far. Hubby talked with our solar power guy last night and he can't make it up here (he lives 250 miles away) until week after this coming one so we'll hang tight until then.

tpals - At least our week ahead promises temps only in the 70s which will be wonderful compared to yours. Doesn't sound like there will be a magic reset switch for our solar system. It's old and sounds like some parts may have bit the dust.

Michelle - Oh, wise woman, I need you here to beat some sense into my hard head. I'm realizing this morning, after an uncomfortable night (woke at 3:30 and couldn't get back to sleep) that I need to stop fighting the hot weather and working so hard in it. Resting my body is high on the priority list just now.

Susan - Thanks for your good wishes, friend. All will be well once the long, slow winter arrives. Hahahahahaheeheehohohoho.

Leigh - And why was it that I never got around to mulching the blueberry patch this year? Sigh. Well, you know the answer to that as I do. Just not enough hours in the day to do all that needs (or should be) done. Everything with the solar was grounded as it should have been. I'm sure it wasn't a direct hit by lightning as we would be able to detect the damage. We'll have to wait a couple of weeks to know more. Our solar guy has several installations in our area and got a call from one of them on a remote lake (huge retirement home) that has experienced the same "ailments" to their system as we have resulting from the storm. I feel for them as they rely solely on their solar system. At least we can run on grid until the repairs are made.

SmartAlex - Yup, kinda like Mother Nature says, "Okay, here ya go, you impatient twit." Our soil has been so dry that it was a wonder that any of that deluge had a chance to permeate the "concrete!"

wyomingheart said...

Those sun flowers will appreciate you dedication! I know your feelings, about the wind. Living on the top of a ridge , gives me wishes just like yours!

coffeeontheporchwithme said...

We just had huge rain yesterday and I've been out assessing. I am going to have to get out my tomato stakes to add to the tomato cages. We have a very old "harvest apple" tree that produces little soft yellow apples (we don't do anything with them) and there must be hundreds down on the ground - ughhh, raking! That's rotten about your solar panels. Is there any kind of warranty for lightening surges or strikes? -Jenn

Rosalea said...

So glad you finally got rain! We got another 3/4's of an inch last night. We are so soggy. There are mushrooms sprouting up all over. I am so thankful for raised beds, and our sandy loam, as, so far, things are OK. I dug a few spuds yesterday...beauties! They sure have sucked up the moisture.
Hope you can get to the bottom of the solar problem, and it isn't too costly.

Mama Pea said...

wyomingheart - I got shivers thinking about what your winds must be like living on top of a ridge. We're fairly flat here and still get way too much wind.

Jenn - I'll bet your chickens would love some of those old "harvest apples." Also, raking them up and adding to your compost heap would be good, too. Our solar system is going on 25 years old so any expense for repairs will be for us to cover. But, our solar energy guy has become a friend over the years and he takes very good care of us. In return, and since he lives a distance away but has many installations in our remote area, he stores lots of his equipment (scaffolding, etc.) here with us and appreciates the fact that he can have needed supplies (some of them heavy shipments) shipped directly to us here so he doesn't have to receive them at his home base and then truck them to installations up here. It's a great arrangement.

Mama Pea said...

Rosalea - Raised beds and sandy loam are the perfect combination for a growing season with a bit too much rain. I didn't plant potatoes this year (waaaah!) although they might have turned out like little rocks considering our lack of moisture. We're hoping the solar energy system fix isn't too complicated or involving too many new parts!

Nancy In Boise said...

I think sometimes those summer storms can be just really severe! Sorry you lost power! That's always sad when you lose crops or part of your crops do it due to a bad weather storm. Hope you guys will get power back soon with your solar. We're still waiting for rain here and it is just so Smoky again. I looked out this morning thinking I was cloudy cuz it's not very sunny and no it's just smoke. And then it was a hundred degrees yesterday so I empathize with your heat!

Mama Pea said...

Nancy - I'm sure the smoke you're seeing and inhaling is much worse than ours is. Our haze seems to come and go as does the actual smell of smoke. We've had no rain since the storm this past Friday, but the chance of some is in the forecast for this week. Fingers crossed for you to get some, too.