Summers in the Ozarks have unpredictable weather. A summer thunderstorm can blow in without warning, with a sudden downpour accompanied by thunder and lightning. These summer thunderstorms put on amazing shows of lightning shooting across the sky like jagged spears being thrown by the Greek God Zeus, followed by a big boom of thunder. Sitting on a covered porch watching the awesome display of mother nature was fascinating to witness. After living as an adult in California where I rarely see lightning and hear thunder, I feel a pang of nostalgia when a rare thunderstorm occurs.
One summer day, we tied the horses to the fence in the pasture beside the barn. The sky darkened with big cumulonimbus clouds approaching. They looked ominous as if a funnel could drop from the sky, forming a twister at any moment. The wind started to blow, and the sky lit up with jagged bolts of lightning, followed by a deep rumble as if an angry giant had awakened from his sleep. We had unsaddled several of the horses, but they remained tied by their halters to a fence post in the pasture behind the barn.
Daddy had passed away by then, and Mom ran down to the pasture to free the horses so they wouldn’t hurt themselves. Lightning darted across the sky followed by a loud boom of thunder as the wind started to howl. The frightened animals were wild-eyed and reared up frantically as the storm bore down on us. When Mom tried to untie the horses from the fence, one horse started backing up and tried to run in fear.
I stood frozen, and everything seemed to move in slow motion. I saw the rope tied to the horse’s halter lying on the ground and watched Mom’s foot step on the coiled rope on the ground.
To be continued in my book, The Big Ranch in the Ozarks, Journey of the Greatest Generation. Published on Amazon/Kindle this summer 2023.
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