The day was hot and humid and in the late afternoon the Earth Mother sent a severe thunderstorm. It was an angry storm with noisy winds and lighting bolts that raced across the sky. Deep rolling thunder shook and rattled the house and an old oak tree was blown to the ground. After the storm the colors of the evening sky became a mixture of beautiful yellow, orange and black. In the center hung a necklace-like row of mammatus clouds. It was then I no longer felt vulnerable and small, and I knew once again, all was well on Eighty Acres.