This Crazy Weather

 My wife and I took a trip to the Iowa/Missouri border last Friday, May 24th. We were headed to an Amish community near Bloomfield, Iowa. We enjoyed the day, and I'll share some pics on my Amish Horses Facebook page. However, something bigger than our day-trip held my attention.

Iowa and more of the mid-west is in a terrible way with our weather.

We had tickets to a play in the Amana Colonies that evening and got back home just in time to change clothes. Our iPhones shouted alerts at us about a funnel cloud approaching our location. When I looked out the window, this is what I saw!

    We were quite relieved when that funnel cloud passed by and we headed outside to go to the play. I looked to our East and LO there I could see that a tornado had touched the earth.

I zoomed my pic so you can see the funnel on the ground.

    We quickly started calling and texting friends and family to check on everyone. Our good friends, Church and small group buddies, and neighbors of four miles (that's close neighbors in our rural mindset) sustained severe damage to their business Frytown Trailers. Please pray for them as they lost many and it's quite a challenge to regroup, repair, and replace what was damaged.

 Tornados are awful and fearful. However, what might be more damaging than those powerful winds are tiny droplets of rain. We have had so many multiple billion droplets, and they haven't stopped falling!

Every field is a muddy mess. This gate entrance at my place is not usually a marsh!

My horses are glistening wet after another downpour.

The clouds in this first pic are awe-inspiring, but what you might not have noticed is the water laying on the land below. Farmers have been forced out of the fields, and time is ticking. The window of opportunity for spring planting is closing soon. Pray for our farmers!

After the Storm

Karm and Coke, glistening wet after a torrential downpour.

There is a song that I love, in the Mennonite Hymnal, The Storm is Passing Over.  Every time a really bad storm hits, and then passes, I think of that song.

We had a really powerful storm here in the Kalona area about a week ago.  It brought torrential rains and flooding. Which is an interesting coincidence, because the novel I'm working on now, is about a flood in the fictitious community of Bull Town.

There is nothing fun or beautiful about floods.  I do find some storms amazing even if they are frightening, as you well know if you have read my novel, Under the Heavens.  Although, I will say that my favorite part of a storm is the peaceful aftermath.

These pictures were taken after that kind of powerful, yet amazing storm.  I didn't touch them up at all.  This is exactly the way my cell phone, and my family found the scene.
A huge double-rainbow appeared and of course we had to remember the youtube video, Wow, double rainbow. 
My picture, of the rainbow, doesn't show the double part, but I love the rays of light, beaming out of the Heavens.