I am in the study processing photographs on the computer. It is in the early morning hours between 1:00 and 2:00 am. Outside I hear the gentle rumble of thunder, the promise of rain. The last couple of days have been hot, too hot. The temp has been in the 90’s and we have been without rain for several days, so a shower of raindrops would be most welcome. Don’t want anything violent, no strong winds or dangerous lightning, just a nice, gentle shower.
The house vibrates from the deeper rumblings of thunder. It reminds me of too much bass on a stereo causing everything within twenty feet to rattle. For the life of me, I don’t understand why people find excessive, organ jarring, use of bass appealing. It causes the other components of a musical composition to be drowned out or lost! All of those rich, intricate layers of music comprised of different instruments and notes are just swept away.
The rain has arrived. I hear it hitting against the windows and windowpanes. The drops sound big and heavy. My freshly mowed lawn should be happy!
Rosie, my border collie, has moved under the desk and closer to me. The thunder, which has grown louder and more intense, makes her nervous. I really don’t mind the thunder. In fact, I rather like the sound. It’s the wind that makes me nervous, and sometimes the lightning if it becomes too severe. We have already had the experience of a couple of lightning strikes that have caused some damage to the house. Once is enough, twice is too much, and a third time…well, hopefully, there will not be a third time. I would rather not relive the experience, ever again! However, I would like the opportunity to photograph a lightning storm some day…from a very safe viewpoint.
Rosie is now sitting on my feet. If she could, she would be in my lap. The once gentle rumble of thunder has grown quite loud, and light from the flashes of lightning fill the room. Thankfully, there is no wind, just a lot of noise. Tornados have become somewhat common in North Carolina over the past couple of decades, and I become wary when the wind begins to pick up speed and howl as it whips around the corners of the house.
In the distance, I hear sirens. It's a sound that I don't like. It's eerie and disturbing and means that something is wrong or someone is in trouble. I hope, that whatever the trouble may be, it isn’t too serious.
The heart of the storm has now moved further away and the sound of thunder has diminished. Rosie is no longer sitting on my feet. She is still close by, but is more relaxed as the storm continues to move away. Storms have not always upset her, but the last lightning strike at the house created such havoc that it gave her quite a fright. Me too!
Now, outside, is the sound of silence. (That was a song, wasn’t it…”Sound of Silence”, Simon & Garfunkel? Great song!) The storm has passed and we can both relax. Back to the photos! Or maybe I'll just go to bed. It's late.
Linda S. Montgomery
July 8, 2010
