I live to hail that season by gifted one foretold,

when men shall live by reason,

and not alone by gold.

-george linnaeus banks

my keyboard isn't allowing capitalization or punctuation for the time being...but the time to write is now. i will correct this later....

....yesterday was hot and humid and just sitting at this desk and keyboard was utterly uncomfortable when i began hearing the weather warnings for pouring rain. i texted my husband --- who lately lives in the basement as a means to beat the heat --- that if it indeed began to rain, i would be going out into it post haste. this is the luxury of summer. when in my adult life had i deliberately gone into a downpour.... answer- never. When it started, i hit the door. At first it was piddly... but soon it was gloriously drenching. i decided the backyard would be a better idea for this and made my way around the house and just enjoyed the cool. eventually it began to dissipate and i headed back indoors and into the shower. lathered up my hair and as i was rinsing, i looked out the window at the tempest. branches were bending in every direction and the rain i thought was beginning to trickle was actually harder than before when suddenly it looked like pebbles were bouncing off the roof . could it be hail. i stepped out of the shower and back into my wet clothes and went outside again

amazing hail . i didnt have my camera ready so i picked up a piece and put it in the freezer. but even after that task the hail was still going strong so i grabbed my camera and reinstalled the memory card and took the shot above, returned the camera to safety and spent more time in the gloriously cool rain.