Apparently the cold and warm fronts collided further south than expected which meant the storms were to the south of us, too. I haven't checked the news or social media yet so I don't know how the evening went for others in the storms' paths, but I hope for the best for them.
Here, it was eerily quiet for most of the day. There was no wind or air movement, and very few bird calls. (Normally at this time of year, they are feeding babies and NOISY.)
Anticipating the worst, we moved the patio furniture around hoping to prevent any more flying carpets and tossed tables. Take a look at the kitchen door.
We were being watched! We'd left the kitchen door open so the dogs could come out, but Tammo preferred to remain inside. Still, FOMO is real, even for dogs, and he kept an eye on us.
I jimmied the things in the garage so that we could get a car inside and protect it from the expected severe weather that never came, the tornado closet was prepared and ready (so THAT'S where I put my canning equipment!), the leashes were at hand, and...
we waited.
The worst that happened was rain. Lots of it. Lots and lots and lots.
Street gutters that became 3' wide rivers on both sides of the street.
Heavy, long lasting downpours that created a creek in our back yard.
It stretched as far as we could see either side down the property lines.
As the day progressed, so did the predictions about where the tornadic storms would go. For several days we'd been in the bullseye of predictions for the worst,
but soon forecasters were shifting that bullseye south again and again, and by 9 PM, we were no longer in it.
The rain stopped and the skies cleared, and Pepper and Tammo gratefully emerged from the house and took some time catching up on their business. (Ahem!)
The storms had passed and, aside from a very soggy lawn, we were totally unscathed.
Wait, what's that, Mom? Do I want to invite Tammo over for a sleepover?? I sure do! Tammo, did you hear that??
::Wild and crazy barking and howling::
::Climbing into Lisa's car and heading to her home::
Wow, Nash! This is so much fun! Your mom put some tasty treats in my dinner bowl! And now we are going for a long walk!
Wow, Nash! Your mom lets me stay up much later than I get to at Grammy and Boompa's home. Let's play some more!
Boys? Bo-oys! ::pause:: BOYS! It's time to stop playing and go to bed. It is almost midnight and I can't keep my eyes open any longer. Go outside, do your business, and hop into bed. If you need a drink, now's the time. I'm not getting up to bring you one. Capice?
::Flap, flap, flap, flap goes the doggie door. Sounds of romping and playing. A few moments of quiet. Flap, flap, flap, flap. Lap, lap, lap, lap. Some pushing, some shoving, and finally two leaps onto the bed.::
Okay, Tammo, This is my mom's bed. You have to share because you are kind of... er... um... Well, you're long.
::shuffle, shuffle, shuffle::
Goodnight, boys. Sleep tight and don't let the bedbugs bite.
Bedbugs? Nashie, what are those and why will they bite me??
It's just a saying, buddy. You don't need to worry about them. Go to sleep.
::sighs, yawns, light snoring::
::peace and quiet::
::whimpering::
What's that? You are cold? Here, take my blanket, Tammo.
::snuggling down, light snoring::
::peace and quiet::
::whimpering and a few yips::
What's that? You're scared? It's ok. I am big and strong and right here. I'll protect you. I'll put my head by your side so you can feel me close.
::peace and quiet::
:: some loud wailing and crying::
What's that? You're homesick? Aw, buddy. I'm here and will cuddle up closer to you. Don't be lonely. You know I'm your best buddy, and Lisa is coming to bed in just a minute. We'll all be together, safe and sound.
::heavy snoring::
Next day.
Morning.
Afternoon.
Evening.
Ahhhhh. My own bed. And Grammy and Boompa! Pepper! I sure love Nashie and Lisa, but it is good to be back in my own bed again.
Pepper? Peeppeer!! I'm cold. Can I have a blanket? And will you come cuddle up with me? I'm scared, too.
Last Thursday was a wild ride for Indiana, weather wise. Terrible damage to the northern part of the state and the National Weather Service is still out in the field assessing just how many tornados tore through Indiana.
At this point, the count is 21, the 8th largest tornado outbreak in the state's history, and the NWS is not done yet.
We'd been given a heads up that more storms were to come through yesterday and they did. While they were severe, no sirens blew.
They began with very heavy rains, and then when those slowed a bit, pea sized hail pelted us for a while. No biggie; all was fine
Today's weather forecast has everyone around here sobered and concerned. For almost a week, forecasters from local to the NWS have been forecasting that significantly intense tornados will strike in the Midwest, and Lafayette is in the bullseye.
Memes like this one began to be posted by various weather services.
This was posted Monday, two days ago. Enough to alert me, but I also know that forecasts can change as we get closer to the event. But they have continued to show that we are going to have bad weather this afternoon and evening.
Several things have rattled me about the this particular forecast.
1) Our son Cole loves weather and has since he was a child. He monitors the weather forecasts and sent this to our family GroupMe last night.
We get several tornado warnings a year, but I can't remember another time when Cole made sure we knew what might be coming. That made me pause. (Ryan Hall is a forecaster in Illinois who is known to be highly accurate in his forecasts.)
2) Our local forecaster, Chad Evans, made a statement that I have never heard him make last night. He called today's forecast "troubling."
Chad is also a highly accurate forecaster and has been in our community for years. For him to say that was a first, and a big one at that.
Coupled with Cole's warning, I began reconsidering just how safe our laundry room is. The tornado closet under the stairs is accessed through a door in the laundry room, but we usually just put chairs in the laundry room and sit while we wait for the sirens to stop instead of actually going into the closet.
3) The forecasters have been warning us about today's storms for nearly a week. The language they use about potential damage is far stronger than usual. Maybe even strident - the warnings to be prepared keep coming.
4) I was awakened at 5:30 this morning by a terrible migraine. I stumbled out of bed and took some meds, then took the dogs out. I was extremely nauseated as I went back to bed and sick, sick, sick. Five hours later I am better, but still headachy and nibbling on crackers.
Changes in air pressure can trigger headaches as well as be harbingers of storms. My guess is that that was what caused me to suddenly get so ill - the air pressure changed as the storm system approaches us. I wonder now if it is an indicator that something big truly is heading our way.
I am going to take all of this seriously. Phones fully charged, flashlights with fresh batteries. Tornado closet open and clear so we can grab the dogs and hunker down in there. Candles and candle lighters easily accessible. Move things in the garage over to the side so we can get one car inside. Drag the patio furniture up close to the house so it doesn't go flying again. Alert a few people who might be unaware that there may be wild weather coming in. And more.
I have already written tomorrow's blog post and scheduled it to post. It's a Dogs of Our Lives - they are still a little hard to write since Mama's passing but I found a story in some recent pictures of the dogs and I hope it will make you smile. (It did me.)
Finally, I will do my best to post ASAP about our post-storm status so that you know we rode it out and are okay. I am hoping that will be the case, but Cole's warning and Chad's "troubling" remark, have me on high alert.
In the meantime, the memes are continuing on our family GroupMe. Gotta love my kids. (Thanks for the smile, Lis!)
I suspect this is gonna be a first, middle, and last name day around here, but I hope I am wrong.
Yesterday my Breyer Ambassador shirt arrived. I was surprised at the color.
Pink!
The bright colors of the tee shirts help people find the volunteers if they have questions, a problem, or need some sort of help. While I was surprised at the color, I do really like it.
Some very big BreyerFest news came out yesterday. News that is startling, news that is inconceivable to many of us.
After 36 years of hosting, this is the last year that the CHIN will be the host hotel for BreyerFest.
A post on the BreyerFest Official Facebook Group innocently let the cat out of the bag.
Breyer quickly responded that yes, they were aware and would release more information after BreyerFest 2026 has ended.
Part of me is not surprised. If you have ever attended BreyerFest and gone to the CHIN, you will find that the motel is packed, decorations, ads, and other things are taped up all over the building, both inside and outside of rooms, and there are throngs of people everywhere.
Parking is at a premium, it's noisy, it's crowded, but for most of us it is also a lot of fun to wander and shop, meet up with old and new friends, and just immerse ourselves in the hobby.
Having said that, I am hopeful that the new host site will have more rooms for those of us who want to attend. I have never stayed at the CHIN. Never. I've tried to get a reservation, I've been on the waitlist, but I never was able to reserve a room.*
At the moment there are conversations on social media about the fairness of the CHIN's system of reservations and how it seems to benefit one group but excludes others who'd like a chance to stay there along with hopes that that will change in a new place. In that discussion, I can see pros and cons on both sides. If that policy is going to change, this transition to a new host hotel would be the ideal time to do so. (I am not picking sides here - these remarks and discussions originated on social media.)
The loss of the CHIN could also be a springboard for a better BreyerFest experience. Breyer has had events elsewhere and experience finding hotels that work for their purposes. I would assume they would use that experience as they find a new host hotel for us.
But, there is also chatter that perhaps the CHIN will continue hosting BreyerFest and the coming changes that Breyer mentioned only apply to the room sales. If you reread what the original poster asked, she says she was told "the Clarion will no longer be hosting/allowing BreyerFest sales..." And that they (the CHIN) were "making changes."
A new place, bigger, cleaner, better maintained... there could be some real pluses in moving from the CHIN. Or, if we stay there, what would BreyerFest look like without the room sales we treasure so much? Would Breyer accommodate that somehow?
We will find out the plan in a few weeks.
Stay 'tooned!
*Learning that I wanted to stay there but hadn't been able to, Marilou Mol once invited me to stay with her and Brenda Metcalf who always room together. I declined as I knew they had a lot of room sales and that adding me to the room would really make it crowded. Still, I have never forgotten Marilou's kindness.
Early mornings spent with horses are just the best.
Especially in early summer, with the sun coming up, the munching sound of grazing... Yesterday I got some of that when I went out to the barn to meet with Belle and two of her children. (Isn't Eazy beautiful?)
At the last minute, Belle wasn't able to be there, but her cowgirliest and cowboyiest daughter and son were.
Belle's family is in their first year of horse ownership but they are fast, enthusiastic learners. And they wanted to learn how to care for their tack. I offered to teach them how to do that.
My western saddle had not been cleaned for a while, and so I cleaned alongside them as I showed them some saddle care.
I always begin with a before-the-cleaning picture - I love to compare that one with the saddle when it is finished.
I's saddle was one of three that Tim bought from my neighbor. She'd held a garage sale last summer and I'd texted some photos of her saddles to Tim. He came out and bought all three.
There is a brand on I's saddle that we are all wondering about. I did a little research but haven't been able to identify it yet.
I'd also brought out my English saddle. Tim and I have both checked it to make sure that, even though it is probably 50 years old, it is safe to use. I've taken good care of it and he and I both agreed that it's in great shape.
I let I and A sit in it to see how it felt to them
and they agreed that they'd really like to try riding in it. I'll get a girth (the one I had was not safe) and then we will give it a try.
We wrapped up our session with plans to do this again (bridles and other leather tack), and then those sweet kids packed my saddle and my tack trunk into my car so I didn't have to carry them out of the barn.
They even offered to follow me home and then unload everything into my garage! (I declined, but still, what nice kids!)
The tack trunk is heavy and awkward to carry, but I slid it out of the car and into a wagon, rolled it into the garage, and hefted it onto a (newly cleaned) shelf without help. And then I put Abby's grooming bucket by it and a horsey ceramic planter I'd made as a kid and called it good.
Going out to the barn and spending time with saddles and kids who want to learn how to take care of their horses' tack was fun. It was a nice break from week two of garage cleaning and month three of quiet book work. I came home refreshed and ready to tackle those tasks again.
Horses have a way of doing that, don't they?
The June give away is coming as is some BreyerFest talk.
After twenty years of use, our binds have begun breaking down. Two of them no longer can be opened, shut, or raised up and down. Others are fast approaching that state. And so it was time to get new shades.
The very first one to break happened about a year ago and it was closed when it gave up the ghost. We had several plants at the window, and they did okay because they still got some light. One philodendron, though, got sneaky.
See those huge leaves? That's my Seymour. See those little leaves? (Basket on bottom left.) That's what Seymour used to look like, and still does in certain parts of himself.
When those blinds could no longer be opened, Seymour began climbing and pushing his way through the slats in search of sunlight. The stems thickened and the leaves got bigger and bigger and bigger.
As a teacher who especially loved teaching Science, I have been observing and enjoying the transformation of the plant over time.
But I never looked behind the couch. I could water Seymour and friends over the couch without needing to step behind it. It wasn't until we got the new furniture and moved the old loveseat out that I go a creepy surprise.
Seymour had been on the move.
And not only that. Seymour had started to EMBED HIMSELF INTO THE CARPET!
Those brown protrusions were burrowing into my carpet!
The yellow line shows the holes (they are difficult to see.) I had to yank pretty hard to get the brown protrusions out of the carpet.
CreepyCreepyCreepyCREEPY!!
I almost lopped off Seymour's errant branch then and there but instead decided to curl it up and wind it through his basket's handle.
I will have to disentangle Seymour from the blinds before they come down and the shades go up. But if Seymour doesn't behave, or if I find more creep factors from him, it will be good bye Seymour.
My mother had kept a box of my school work for every year I was in school and I went through those boxes as I sorted out the garage. I found evidence of my horsey love going back to my youngest years.
Sneaking in a Zebra on the cover of your Africa report when the elephant was clearly sufficient? Yup!
There were lots and lots of doodles on notebook paper. I have no idea why my mother saved these, but I am glad that she did.
Truth be told, my drawing has not evolved much since elementary school. In fact, I just sent Cambria a letter and drew a jumping horse by my signature that is nearly identical to this one!
Nothing was exempt from horsey drawings, including this old box. It was full of old Christmas decorations.
In third grade we had done a poetry unit, copying poems from other poets as well as writing our own.
I probably selected this poem to copy because unicorns are horsey-ish. A text search brought up the author as Ella Young who write the poem in 1939.
I still enjoy Robert Frost's poetry and back then,
pastures were just as alluring to me then as they are now! And I love how Robert Frost twice extends an invitation to the reader. "You come, too."
A Lynn original for Halloween with no horses mentioned. Not a masterpiece by any means, but I do like that last line.
Another Lynn original with several connections to my own life back then.
Mary is my cousin and I associate her with past family holidays when we ate cherry pie together (and still do.) Of course, a horse is included, and the horse's name, Kerry, was the name of my grandmother's canary.
Not brilliant poetry by any means, but it does reflect the family!
Of course, going through boxes that contains things like my old drawings and poems takes time and slows down my progress as I work to put the garage back in order.
Yesterday the garage got worse instead of better.
We moved the old couches and tables out there because we were going to need the space inside for today.
