We almost squeaked through the storms and threatened tornadoes; we just got nipped towards the end when lightning hit all around, thunder scared all of the animals, and the lights went out.

They were out for nearly four hours, and we decided to wait until later to pull the generator from the barn. We didn’t need it. It’s fun being in the dark for a while. The lights came on just before 9 p.m.; we got into three chess games.

Maria is getting good; we are pretty evenly matched. She is excellent on defense, and I am good at offense, so we balance one another out, and neither can entirely break through. She won one game – I blundered close to checkmate, and we called it a draw on the others; it was getting too bloody.

But it was great fun. We both love playing chess. I suspect she’s getting better than me.

I got some popcorn out, and the solar emergency light and the candelabra gave us plenty of light. Every day has been something of a mess weather as everyone in the country knows. I can see from the weather that this will be a different summer than we’ve seen here before. We are about as ready as we can be. It’s sad.

I did get out to get a landscape shot of the sky clearing after heavy rain, wind, thunder, and lightning. When the rain and winds hit, I saw Zip running madly out from under the front porch and diving under one of the coaches for shelter. He has safe and hiding spots.

As the wind built up and Lulu got too close, Zip dove under a pile of wood we had saved for the pandemic. Maria got this video, watching Bud hide and then pop up and down. He has a million safe spots and hiding places here. He knows how to take care of himself, as barn cats do.