Lightning Strikes In More Ways Than One!!

I was sitting on my couch minding my own business, trying to sew binding on a quilt, when I noticed just how yellow it was outside.  That's weird!  Then I saw this ... one of my wind chimes at a drastic angle.  Uh oh .... something's up!!

Suddenly over my phone came warning after warning.  Lightning strikes NEAR YOU!!  That's when I couldn't stand it a second longer and grabbed my tripod from the rig.

It was rather different, this storm.  Instead of the lightning hitting the ground, it mostly went across the sky in herky-jerky movements like little fingers searching for something just out of reach.  It was really weird to watch.

It would start at one side and work it's way clear across the sky.  Another unusual thing, all the purple color.  That's possibly because of the huge dust storm that preceded the lightning.

And then the rains came.  Not monsoon type rains, but enough to get everything wet, including me and my camera.  We moved way back under the patio until it stopped, then I was back out on the lawn, or rather crispy brown dry grass.

Isn't this just crazy?  My heart was beating fast ... I just LOVE capturing this creation of nature.  It was interesting to see the storm passing to the left, but all the lightning strikes went to the right.

With the winds pushing it along, it didn't last long enough.  It did cool everything down about 30 degrees, but in no time, we were back up to air fryer temperatures.

Yesterday, just because it could, lightning struck again, or possibly it was the Voodoo Doll sticking me one last time.  The power went out and my AC would not turn back on!  I'll fill you in tomorrow morning after I've spent an hour in the dark trying to capture the Neowise Comet in the northern sky.  Look Northeast at about 4:30 am.