"Summer has set in with its usual severity." 

--- Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Tonight, for the second time this summer, I drove home during during a tornado watch and an accompanying downpour. There's nothing that quite excites the senses as the possibility of peril. I was in a rather unprotected spot when the call came from a family member that on the weather report, there were some Doppler super-cells of oranges, reds and purples headed right toward where I was. So, I grabbed a few things and took off toward home where I could stay in the basement. Well, it started pouring to beat anything just as I pulled into the driveway --- I could see a virtual river of surface water cascading down the boat launch next to our property. Staying in the car, I comforted Ruff with a few "It's OK!" phrases and a hand on his shoulder. I wanted to wait until the rain tapered a bit so we didn't get soaked to the bone. That ended up being about 15 minutes, during which I witnessed my garden trellis, holding my pole beans and cucumbers, list to the side. So, as the storm passed I got out and tried to reset it into the ground a bit (when I installed it, I had pounded the legs into the ground about 9 inches) and used a pry bar to keep it propped up. I'll take a look at it tomorrow morning, and see if the tomato cages need any reinforcing as well. That first severe summer storm, they pop out of the ground and it's a devil of a time trying to get them to get a secure bite of earth again. Happy to report that we made it through safe and sound.