Fay

Fay has been something. She's been an interesting tropical event that came on and offshore in Florida like a boatload of drug smugglers.
She arrived in Alabama several days ago with wind gusts and torrential rain. Yesterday afternoon I started getting calls from people all over the state telling us to take cover that a tornado was headed for Empire. Now Empire is not that big so we ALWAYS get concerned when they say a storm's headed this way.
We kept a watch out and you could see sunshine out the front windows but when you looked out the back doors toward the south, it looked like nightfall. There was no lightening or thunder which is totally different than spring and autumn storms. I could hear the rain coming from about a mile away and our dogs went berserk. But the storm stayed up high and all we got was another inch or two of rain in a matter of minutes.
A while later, the sun was out again. Jilda went out back to put some scraps in the composter and noticed our tomato cages had been blown over. When she walked through the garden to straighten them up, she sank up to her knees in mud. I could hear her hollering through the open doors and I ran out to see what was going on. When I got to the fence, she looked like a miget. I thought I was going to have to get the truck and a tow-rope to rescue her but I managed to walk around the edge of the garden and get close enough to pull her free. I should be able to retrieve her shoes next spring when I break the garden up again.
As I sit here typing, I can hear the rain on the roof. Fay should help get the water tables back to normal after a year or so of near drought conditions.
I've heard some people complaining about the rain, but I consider it a gift.