Sunflowers 30

 There's something about this season that really seems to bring out the worst in people. 

That has not always been true. This has not always been a stressful time. But shopping is a terrible experience. The traffic seems crazier than usual. "Happy holidays" is kind of a bad joke. "Merry Christmas" is an excursion into pure fantasy. For most people the whole thing seems to be kind of an ordeal, doesn't it?

Sunflowers 29

 I really should not complain about a minor dust event here, when on the same day so many states got hit with unprecedented tornadoes. I remember well the F5 that hit Lubbock. I was living on the track of that storm at that time but survived. It's an experience I would never want to repeat. My neighborhood got a sort of glancing blow. I was just a college kid at that time. My 1956 Chevy was parked in the driveway and had only a cracked side window. Trees were down all over, power lines down, and some houses had severe damage. I was living in a garage apartment, brick, and built like a fortress. Lucky me. At one end of the block there were fatalities when the second story of a house there got sheared off.

In those days, Lubbock had a very active tornado season. Many alerts, many funnels, thick black clouds, were things you just expected. Not any more. All that activity seems to have shifted to other areas. The problem today is drought-- prolonged periods of little to no rainfall. 

Sunflowers 28

 Happy holidays. Yes, we had a dust storm yesterday but minor as these things go. I have seen far worse. Problem really is, no rain in a very long time. It does not take much to raise the dust. Temps are still quite mild for the time of year. 

The dust storm yesterday did not interfere at all with anything I needed to do. It was all over by evening. And it was a nice evening.

Sunflowers 27

 Forecast today was for high winds and partly cloudy. Right now, clear skies and not a lot of wind. So maybe a reprieve from a crap storm. Of course, Lubbock wouldn't be Lubbock without crap storms.  But maybe not today.

This morning's abundant sunshine is a definite mood elevator!

Sunflowers 26

 It's a good thing I took so many of these pics. I don't know whether I will have anything with a holiday ambience or not. Happy holidays works for me. I'm not sure where I could go to get a dose of that holiday stuff. 

I'd certainly like to avoid anyplace where there are lots of people! Of course, I always do that. Where there are lots of people, there are lots of annoyances and irritations, and maybe even craziness. Who needs that?