We Farm: Storms in the country are way more scary than storms in the city

I had a nice unexpected weekend visit from a fellow Houstonian who lived in Portland for about three years some 5 years ago. We had also been planning for a cousin visit the same weekend, so there was going to be some shuffling. I felt like I needed a little break from the kids, so Samantha's timing couldn't be more perfect.

Her first night in Portland, we took in some Sushi at Bamboo, then headed to Hood River first thing in the morning. When we got there, we took a quick stop in at Panorama Point.

Afterwards, we made it to the orchard, where fruit bins were laying in wait for the first harvest of the season.

That same night, I experienced my first real thunderstorm on the farm. There was crackling thunder, lightning streaking across the sky, wind gusting, doors banging, and the sounds of creaking gates. This happened about the same time that I decided to show Samantha around.

We were walking up the tall grass to the highest peak on the property, across the edge of the forest where bear and cougar live, and down through the orchard to the derelict red house and charming red barn. As I opened each door, I would hear a sound from within, jump back and scream. Samantha showed no fear. She would hear a sound and charge right for the darkest corner. When we walked into the red house, she went all the way in and climbed the ladder to the sleeping loft (I didn't step foot in that place).

Freaking Samantha, not so much of a voice of calm. As we are driving up the driveway before the storm even hits, she says, 'Wow, your house is right out of a Steven King movie.' Then, when we're walking back up to the house from the orchard tour, she says something about Children of the Corn. At this point, I'm about to smack her, but instead, I tell her that one more comment like that and we're spooning later.

The storm made for some spectacular photo opportunities. One one side of the house, the sky was ablaze with red and orange. On the other side, a full double rainbow. I literally spent about an hour running from one side of the house to the other yelling, "wow!"