Win some, lose some...

[hotwine]

We've got a big grounding rod for the house, and that probably protected us. But the cable and phone lines are not protected, so I've got to fix that vulnerability pretty quick.

I was in the sunroom, which overlooks the back yard, and had just turned from watching the downpour to go to the wine cooler in the laundry room (it was 1500, after all), when the bolt hit... so I missed seeing it in action. Although these storms have produced torrential rains, most have been quiet. That one was certainly an exception.

I've got a healthy respect for lightning. Recall back during field training in the Army, when we'd be caught out in the open by a thunderstorm, we'd disperse as though for an artillery strike, and squat down low with our weapons flat on the ground. They were easy enough to clean later in the shower. We never had a strike, but heard horror stories of outfits that did.

Still haven't talked to the ranch foreman; scuttlebutt has it that we had 10 inches down there early in the week.....