Midday settles into afternoon and things start to get interesting. The heat or the lake or the updrafts take over. Maybe a combination of all three. And one of those innocent looking clouds in the west explodes. The massive column of moist air rises until it hits a vertical limit. It begins to spread east and north and south. A glance out the window or from the rear view mirror catches that muted blue-black and it doesn't look like normal sky any more.
Daylight reaches through far to the north and the south but this growing thing absorbs all of the light from where the sun ought to be. It morphs from blue to grey to black. The horizon to the west gets fuzzy, and then the mountain ranges in the lake go blurry and disappear completely as the cloud streaks to the ground. Everything in the distance is consumed by the belly of the beast.
Still it seems so far away. Heat presses down, and the air is almost electric with anticipation.
The trees and bushes sense things first. Leaves start to tremble then dance with the swirls of air. A gust or two brings the smell of rain.
The first fat raindrops fall on the hot sidewalk. And then the heavens open.
Its a race to get down to the ground and no one wants to be left behind. Fat gushing drops fall from the sky and soak every surface in a matter of seconds. Downspouts hardly keep up and the roar of the storm on the roof sounds like a drum. Lightning strobes through the clouds above and almost immediately the crack of thunder shakes windows. The violence of it is magnificent.
Just that fast it is over.
Thunder grumbles and rumbles into the distance. The puddles of water ripple with the last few drops and then their surfaces are still. The air smells like wet pavement and fresh grass.
The tired sun calls it a day. But makes her departure with just a little bit of drama.
B.E.A.Utiful!
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