Normally, I love a good thunderstorm. This one had been different. The lightning and thunder had seemed exceptionally close, and had kept me up the better part of the night. I watched for hours as the electricity danced in the air. I could almost feel it coursing through me. I couldnβt shake the feeling that the storm was warning of something to come. This was the first night, since I moved into the little ranch house, that I hadn't slept like a baby. I was really happy, living there by myself. I enjoyed the solitude, keeping myself busy with the small repairs that needed doing, and by tending to the animals.
When I got up that morning I noticed that there were still menacing clouds lurking on the edge of the horizon. There was definitely a threat of another storm. When I went to feed the cattle, I noticed that the count was unusually low. The herd was usually ready for feed in the morning.
I went into the barn, saddled my horse and went out to find the rest of the herd. It didn't take long to find the problem. There was an old tree that had been hit by lightening, and a large branch had fallen on a section of the fence, knocking it down. The cows were making their way through the downed section of fence. I started rounding them up, and with the help of a rope tied to the saddle horn, managed to pull branches across the opening in the fence to keep the cattle from getting out again.
I headed back to the barn, and picked up the tools that I would need to mend the hole in the fence. As I reached the barn, I took notice that the clouds had moved in. I knew I needed to get that fence fixed fast, before the storm started and the lightening and thunder scared the cattle. I headed out to the broken section of fence as quickly as I could. While riding along on the way, I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. It looked like a rider up on the ridge. I remember thinking that I hoped he had noticed the storm coming, and would be able to find shelter before it hit.