We Have Rain

I love rain.  You already know that.  I taught everyone of my 4 children to love rain.  We have been known to  "frolic" outside when it rains. 

I have been tempted manymanymany times to call into work and pretend to be sick if it would rain.
I leave my work responsibilities and go out side and stand in the rain.
The Doctor I worked for knew where to find me when it rained.
I was always outside, or standing at an open door, every time it rained.

Today we are having rain.  I just have to  jump for joy when it rains.
But the rain cells are varied where they water the earth.

Earlier this week my old home town, Glendale, Arizona got more than they bargained for.  They got rain, which turned to hail.

I saw pictures of golf ball sized hail.
I saw pictures of quarter sized hail.

I heard my friends tell about the experiences they had during the storm.

One friend was driving home from piano lessons with her children.  Her car is now dented from the hail.  When she arrived home she saw the garage lights ripped from her home.  The sun screens were in shreds.  She has windows broken.

My dear friends have had a storm in October that has never happened before.
There were 4 tornadoes reported in Northern Arizona.

This,,,,,,......,,,,,....  in October?

It is still hot in the Phoenix area in October.

My storm just picked a place or two to dump some rain...

But the thing you have to remember about Idaho and October ~ well, it is potato harvest! 
That is a huge thing.
Schools are  not open during Potato Harvest.
The kids get jobs to operate the combines, drive trucks, unload trucks, pick weeds from conveyor belts, and a thousand other jobs.  (OK, maybe not a thousand different job descriptions, but lots and lots)

When the ground is wet from rain the combines can't dig.  The dirt just makes lots of dirt clods if it is somewhat wet, and it is pure mud if it rains a lot, and the potatoes aren't good and clean like they are in dry soil.

So if the rain comes, the ground is wet, no combines dig, the tractors get stuck in the mud.  The trucks get stuck in the mud.  No school kids get work.

The economy of this state depends on the school children to work and help get the potatoes harvested.  But if the rain delays the work, it doesn't delay school being back in session in another week.

Thousands of acres of potatoes need to be harvested.
The good weather is a gamble for farmers here.
The cold weather is just around the corner.
The frozen ground, the chill in the air, the snow on the ground.
It snows in October sometimes.

So, although I love the rain, and the thunder and the lightening, and the wind, and the rain, and the thunder and the lightening and the wind, I don't love potatoes rotting in the ground.  Wet or frozen potatoes in the ground is a very bad thing.

If the potatoes aren't harvested, the farmers don't make money.
Last year the potato crops were harvested and there was too many potatoes on the market.
So some of the farmers didn't even dig and harvest their crops. 
Some farmers opened the potato cellars and told people "just come and take what you want".
It would cost the farmers more money to get the potatoes to a warehouse and sell them.
So they gave the potatoes away for FREE.

This year the farmers need a good crop of potatoes!
If they make money, they spend money, and everyone wins.
If the potatoes aren't harvested, we all lose.

So, as the sun is getting ready to set, I am torn about this rain today.

I want to enjoy it, and I am.

I love the thunder and the lightening.

But, gosh, the clouds are building, and even though the sun is setting, the storm seems to be growning.
The news is reporting that we are in for a lot of rain tonight.

That isn't good news in Idaho in October for the potato farmers.

As the sun is setting I can still see some big clouds that are building.
I can see the line where the sun is below the horizon, but the clouds that are high are illuminated by the sun.

Tonight will be a wet one.
The clouds are just gathering and it will dump buckets after dark.
The thunder will get louder.
The roads will be flooded.
The lightening will light up the sky.

And as I go to bed I will try and not be glad for the rain. ~ I will try to stop my heart from Frolicking.~ I will try to remember the farmers, and imagine them pacing the floors in their homes tonight.~I will remember what it was like for me 30 years ago, when I worked during harvest time.~

Rain, rain, go away.  Come again another day.