A [No So] Distant Sound of Thunder

Summer has begun in Colorado. It ushered in the hail and rain season on Wednesday in a big way. My DH and I were happily tucked away in bed, snoozing. The distant sound of thunder and the patter of heavy rain had incorporated itself into my dreams. Just as the sound of a WWI vintage air raid siren began to wail, Ethan shook us awake. What was in my dream was suddenly bursting into a cacophony of the siren, the thunder nearly overhead and the drum of heavy rain pocked with the tinny sound of what I thought might have been hail. Mother Nature's show was capped off with a lightening show. Larr bolted upright and began to dress, ordering Ethan to turn on the computer as he put one leg into his pants. It was just after 11 p.m. They had to check the emergency weather information. Ethan darted out into the rain to save the garden in the backyard. The remnants of our garage door fail served as excellent covers for the favored hosta garden. The empty trash cans, the picnic table and benches, as well as all of our patio furniture were called into action. Amazingly, he was able to cover everything. I sat near the big picture window, still slightly sleepy and a bit dazed, watching the headlamp beam and silhouette of my son dart around in focused effort. I had not been thinking about the damage a storm like this could do, but how much I will miss him when he moves out. He is remarkable, that son of mine. at 11:45 there were tweets of a funnel cloud sighting less than a mile from our house. By that time I had place candles in useful places and tucked the cats securely, if unhappily, in the basement bathroom. We waited it out for a while. Once it began to lessen, the guys went over to the school to check it. Thankfully, Larr had prepared the building for the approaching rain and so all was safe.

The next morning I found my weary eyed self at my 7:30 a.m. meeting. The news stations predict that we were experiencing a once-in-a-100-years storm with its estimated 2 1/2" of rain in less than an hour. Down south they had hail the size of golf balls and quarters. The worst of it for us was a few wet close, the lose of about 3 hours of sleep and a garden that looked like a Salvador Dali painting.

Hail No or How It Feels to be Near the Edge of Where a Tornado Touched Down

Last Monday night the local weather took an odd turn. It started out like a typical, lovely summer evening. Until, in the span of about 20 minutes the sky when from a pinky sunset to a pea green grey sky. The rain which began in small sprinkles quickly transformed into sheets of horizontal rain. In other part of the city Hail pummeled the trees, gardens, vehicles and buildings.

Our own home fared well with only an intense and aggressive watering. Two blocks away at my mother's house people got about 2"-3" of hail. West of us they got more hail. Hail and rain so aggressive that nearly everyone will need new roofs and siding.

Down in Wheat Ridge, where our school is, seemed to have gotten the worst of it. You can see where the tornado or nearly tornado went. It left a trail of destruction in its pathway. On the north end of the school all of the windows that were still glass (many are plexiglass) were blown out. The wind whipped through the side stage, past the stage in the theater, and through to the other side stage. Luckily the floor was covered in thick black plastic for a performance. It surely would have been ruined. It was incredible to find leaf bits in the main hallway. The wind took off part of the roof cap and striped the plants of their vegetation. In a Land of Oz like fashion we found that a piece of someone else's fence took down our fence. I am not even sure of where it came from. The building flooded in parts.


The area looked like, well, a tornado had hit. Huge trees were pushed down, their root balls exposed, turf pulled up like a blanket on a bed. Cars and trucks were crushed under their falling. Houses had most of their windows blown out. One house was pulled up off the foundation and flung elsewhere. Amazingly, I did not hear of anyone being injured during the storm.



Larr and Ethan went over around 10:30p.m. and stayed until about 1:00 a.m. trying to secure the building. Larr called service offices at midnight so we would be on the top of their duty for the day schedules. Many people from the school community showed up with brooms in hand. We got the cleaning done that day.

The woman who owns this house just sat, crying. She said she didn't even know where to begin. Within the last two years she had the entire house redone and lanscaped. Her house and yard were in terrible shape.

Ethan helped some of the older neighbors by cleaning the leaf clutter off of their roofs so that they would not be pulled off from the weight. The girls and I offered to help other neighbors clean up their messes. While it was a devastating event for many, it was also an opportunity to come together and create a sense of unity, as well as accomplishment.

Here's a great video of an Italian Coca Cola ad that is inspiring:

coca-cola encounter on Vimeo - Watch more Videos at Vodpod.

We also had a wonderful dinner of Coconut Chicken Tenders with Honey Marmalade Dipping Sauce. The recipe is from the Tasty Kitchen, a subunit of ThePioneerWoman.com blog that I love.

Coconut Chicken Tenders with Honey Marmalade Dipping Sauce

* 2 pounds Chicken Tenders
* Salt And Pepper
* 1 cup Sweetened Shredded Coconut
* 1-½ cup Panko Bread Crumbs
* ½ cups Orange Juice
* ½ cans Sweetened, Condensed Milk
* 1 whole Egg
* Peanut Oil For Frying
* ½ cups Honey
* ½ cups Orange Marmalade

On a cookie sheet, season chicken with salt and pepper on both sides. Set aside. In a medium bowl, mix orange juice, condensed milk, and a beaten egg until your “wet” mixture is well incorporated. In another bowl, mix coconut and panko crumbs.

Heat peanut oil in a medium pan or skillet on medium-high heat. Fill pan to about 1/2″ of oil. Dip and fully coat each tender in the egg mixture first and then the panko/coconut mix. Set each coated chicken on a cookie cooling rack.

Fry each tender for 6-8 minutes until golden brown. Serve with Honey Marmalade dipping sauce. Enjoy!

Honey Marmalade Dipping Sauce Instructions:
In a small bowl, add honey and marmalade. Heat in the microwave for 1 minute. Stir everything until well mixed and serve with coconut chicken tenders.