It rained very lightly all day yesterday, the kind of rain that gives you a couple tenths of an inch in a day.  It must have rained during the night, too, because it was still raining this morning.  Then suddenly, about noon, this happened:

The wind kicked up to a howling intensity, which is what got our attention.

Gusts of torrential rain blew in, shooting leaves past the door like projectiles.

That was when the ceiling fans on the back porch started rocking back and forth like they were about to get ripped away.

Then things got really intense!  You can gauge the force of the wind by the sheet of water shooting off the top of the horse trailer.  All I could think was, "Thank you, Lord (and thank you, Herb), that Sara and Siobhan are safe and warm and dry in the barn, Angel and Brandy have a run-in shed, the chickens are safe under the back porch--and if this gets any worse, we can run down to the storm shelter in the basement!"

 Fifteen minutes later, the rain stopped and the sun came out.  We have bright blue skies, a lively wind, and 2.3" of rain in the rain gauge!