Aug 4, 2014 Storms & a Snake

Rubber boa snake trying to swallow a mouse!

Sunday's thunderstorm to the west

Friday 8/1. Another uncomfortably hot day with a high of 96.  No breeze until thunder clouds began arriving at about 3:00 pm.  We could hear thunder in the distance for about a half an hour but never saw any lightening.

We listened to the short wave radio as a lookout operator reported a new fire in Rainy Pass, which is west of Leavenworth and north of Hwy. 2.  Larry said he used to do a lot of backpacking in that area and it was a great place for huckleberries.

When JB went out to bring the dogs' beds in from the porch, he called to me to come out.  There, just outside the door, a rubber boa snake was in the process of eating a mouse!  It was wrapped all around the mouse with its jaws extended around the mouse's nose.  Talk about high hopes!  I didn't think there was any way that small snake was going to be able to eat that mouse, and even if it did, I wasn't sure it would be able to move afterwards.   

Saturday 8/2. It was 71 and clear this morning but with lots of smoke around.  And no snake or dead mouse on the porch.

Since it is the beginning of the month, JB is figuring all the stats for last month.  The chickens gave us 43 eggs in July, and at this point they are all laying in the little nest they have made on top of the straw bale under the nesting boxes.  Blondie still sleeps in the nesting box nearest the door, while Belinda and Betty sleep on the top roost.

Nene called and I told her about the snake.  She said when she was growing up on the ranch in Spokane Valley, one day her Dad came in and told her that there was a nest of baby birds in the hay baler.  She went out to look but all she saw was a snake with several little bumps inside it!

Clouds moved in during the morning and about noon we had a 15 minute downpour.  At about 2:00 pm thunder started rolling in very close and then overhead.  We got another downpour but still didn't actually see any lightening.  I stayed out on the porch to watch for it and then suddenly it was everywhere to the east and northeast.  There was a sudden drop in temperature of almost 20 degrees.  Then more hard rain.  Then a short hail storm.  The rain continued for a while and our little drainage stream was a flood plain.

When the storm finally passed, JB and I got in Miss Kitty to do our after-storm check.  It took about an hour, but we didn't see any smoke.  A second storm passed through after dinner with lots of thunder and lightening but little rain.  JB took Miss Kitty out again while I stayed to (wo)man the radio and talk to Larry, who was also out and about.  I talked to JB on our walkie talkies.  JB spotted smoke to the south of us and called it in to the Forest Service.  Larry also spotted it and had a better take on exactly where it was.  He also called it in.

Nothing more was spotted and no more cells passed over, but it had been a long, hot day.  Our high was 97, but at least the rain cleared the air and cooled it down.

Sunday 8/3.  It was a pleasant 67 this morning with partly cloudy skies.  And a big Sunday breakfast.

I spent most of the day putting the finishing touches on getting ready for my trip to Idaho with Nene.  It probably looks like I'm leaving for the rest of the summer, but I believe in being prepared.

I washed the inside of my Jeep and didn't realize how very dirty it was.  I am so embarrassed that I actually drove Nene and Vivienne in it!  It was filthy!  Up Here everything gets coated with dust, but even with JB having vacuumed it out, there was still dog slobber all over the windows and doors.  I am such a klutz that I tend to splash my lattes about, so there was gunk on the console between the front seats.  Well, you get the idea.  It took me a while, but it is much, much cleaner.  There will probably be a layer of dust on everything by the time I get Down There but that's just the way it is.

By mid day, large, puffy thunder clouds were forming everywhere.  During the early evening there was a lot of thunder to the west and we could see that rain was falling probably on Hwy. 97 coming in from Blewett Pass.  Fortunately for us, the storm moved to the north and did not come close to us.  I got some great photos though.

Monday 8/4.  It is 72 and clear this morning, but with smoke on the horizons.

Since I am the one who feeds the chickens, JB has to learn to do it while I am gone.  He watched yesterday and actually did it this morning.  Unfortunately, he is not as small and agile as I am, so picking up the chicken poop under their roost is a bit of a challenge for him.

He won't have to feed the humming birds as they are all gone now.  There was just one hanging around yesterday, but I took the empty feeders down, so he will be gone soon too.

I will not be taking my computer with me to Idaho, so my next blog posting will be on Monday, 8/11, and all about Nene's and my adventure.

Thought for the day: Money talks, but chocolate sings!