Apparent Doorways, 4th of the Dog Days, 526 M.E. (Aldebaran): "Regardless of what else is going on around you, make the best of what is in your power, and take the rest as it occurs." - Epictetus 

There was a whole lot of lightning yesterday. Despite the continued presence of the heat dome over the eastern U.S., or maybe because of the continued presence of the heat dome (I hadn't spent much time out of doors in days), I still got my steps in, 15,629 of them on a 5.8-mile Monroe. 

The weather forecast (I checked two sources) said no rain until late last night, but just as I had reached about the furthest point from my house, a gentle sun shower started. That wasn't an issue - I was already pretty wet with sweat - but soon after it ended I heard the rumble of thunder. There were several dark clouds in the sky, although not directly overhead, and I could see a great many lightning strikes off in the distance as I began the return portion of my walk. 

The sky got darker and darker as I walked, and the lightning closer and closer. I couldn't tell what direction the clouds were moving but regardless all I could do was continue to walk toward home. I felt like I was on the edge of a razor blade - I wasn't in danger, but danger wasn't far off at all. I completed the last mile of the walk and got in the house right before the hard rain started falling.

Later that evening, just as the sounds of the Independence Day fireworks were finally starting to subside, the thunderstorms came back. Those second storms were impressive not for torrential rainfall or fierce winds but for more lightning strikes per minute and for more minutes than I recall ever before. It was a full-on X-Men-style Storm vs. Thor lightning-bolt assault. Fortunately, there was no damage here, although trees fell elsewhere all over town. I'm amazed my house didn't lose power through it all. 

The storms returned around 2:30 am, which really bummed me out. Some new bed pillows had just arrived yesterday and, using them for the very first time, I had been enjoying a really good night's sleep (I hadn't fully realized how much my old, flat pillows were impeding my sleep). But the storms interrupted that restful sleep, although I was able to pretty quickly fall back into the Land of Nod (they're some really good pillows!).

Pow! A transformer blew around 7:15 this morning and the power went out, although it came right back on almost immediately, but every clock in my house is still flashing. A milder version of the storms passed overhead this afternoon - milder, but still more lightning that rain. There truly are electrical storms, not rain storms.

Before this heat dome settled over the U.S., the forecasts had said that one of the characteristics of a heat dome is they tend to dry out the ground, posing a wildfire threat but reducing the likelihood of thunderstorms. Boy, was that wrong, at least for this heat dome.   

"Do you have the patience to wait until your mud settles and the water is clear? Can you remain unmoving until the right action arises by itself?” - Lao Tzu