Bob is Back

I was sitting out on the porch this morning just admiring God's creation. It was the start to the nicest day we have had in a long time. No wind, NO rain, Not even any bugs pestering me and then I heard it; from the nearby neighbor's pasture came the whistle of a quail. I sat there still and continued to listen and soon there it came again. It had been a very long time since I had heard that call and the absence was sorely missed. When we first moved out here to our place in the country it was very common to see and hear the quail and even ocaisionally flush a covey of them as I walked through the woods. In all the wonders and beauty of this world God has given us to enjoy the bobwhite quail is one of the finest to me. The heart stirring flush of the sudden rise of a covey of them and the soon following distinctive whistling as they gather to gather again is a beautiful thing to behold. I understand that there are many reasons that they have become so scarce and I'll not debate those today, but I surely am happy to know Bob is back!

Tornado Time!

Unfortunately, it’s that time of year. Late spring, storm masses mixing in the air. Tornados. I remember them well, at Heavener, at Altus AFB, not so much in east Texas, but they are still around.

Already parts of the southeast have been ravaged, like in Atlanta, where Bob Babcock lives. He said part of the roof on his house had been ripped off, and he was forced to stay in a motel for a few months while his house is being repaired. And in heart of the Midwest, Oklahoma and Kansas were the latest victims.

Central Oklahoma got it the worst, around Oklahoma City, Norman and areas, I checked with my email friends in OKC, and they seemed to be okay. I checked with my email friends in Tulsa and Heavener/Poteau. They seemed all okay.

Dan Blair did send me some photos of hail as large as softballs (see photos), although the hail was from the OKC area. Elliott Johnson, baseball coach at Southern Nazarene in Bethany said there were some torrential downpours, delaying a game his team was playing. He said, though, that when the rains let up, the tarp was removed from the field and the game went on. Troopers. SoNaz won, by the way.

Reports out of Heavener indicated a tree had fallen on the deer pen there. Hope no deer were injured. A light pole was down along Hwy. 59, but nothing disastrous.

The photo at the top of my blog was taken at Enid (far northwestern Oklahoma) and shows a twister.   Don't worry, I didn't take the photo!  Who in the world would ever want to be a storm chaser?