Just at nightfall yesterday we had a dramatic storm. I had lingered outside to talk with a neighbor as the clouds built up and had just got inside as hail started to hit. Most of the hailstones were about the size of marbles but a few were as big as golfballs. It was as if somebody were throwing ice cubes from the roof. They were hitting hard too and making a lot of noise bouncing off the roof and driveway. I was worried about window glass breaking.

Hail has always been a feature of the weather here although it seems to be more frequent nowadays. That’s a purely subjective statement on my part, but it also seems to be the position of the insurance industry. I’d like to see some statistics to back it up. No damage at all to our garden. All the plants perked up today from the generous rain that followed the hail.

I snapped this morning glory on a trellis at the entrance to our neighbor’s garden. I am not sure what kind it is. We have blue-flowered ones and pink-flowered ones climbing the fence, both with the lighter star-shaped centers. The flowers are pretty and I don’t mind it on the fence as much as I do the Japanese honeysuckle. We’ve also got some stuff that looks a little like morning glory that gets tangled up with the plants in the flower beds. I call that “bindweed.”