Over the past few weeks, Julia's ability to engage in long bouts of imaginative play has markedly improved. Since Monday, she has each day played for half an hour or more at a dramatic game which involves assuring that all her farm animals, caught outside during the "dunderstorm," can make it safely back to their barn or other shelter. The storm is clearly derived from the Great Hailstorm of Ought Aught Ought Six, two weeks ago, and her reenactment features a great deal of cliffhanger action: "Oh, no! Baby sheepy is caught outside in de rain! Which dall [stall, as in barn stall] should baby sheepy go to? Wun, baby sheepy!" The animals - sheep, cows, horses, chickens, a dog - always make it back to safety, but the tractor isn't always so lucky: "Oh, no. Twactor all beat up like our car. Take it to Burnville [Burnsville, where we took our hail-damaged car for repair] to get it all ficked up." She won't soon be forgetting the Day of Crashing Hail and Wailing Sirens.
Blowing & Drifting
Forecast: Significant blowing and drifting, with the possibility of heavy accumulation in rural areas.
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