Welcome to my world and beyond...

A collection of snippets of the books I write and, occasionally, my life and the things that inspire my writing...

Saturday, April 13, 2013

A to Z "L"

L is for Lightning.

When you live in the country, you know to seek cover when a storm approaches. But you also know that lightning--in some ways, is your friend.

I remember, when I was a little girl, grandma warning us about getting caught out in a storm.  When you have acres to roam, and it's in a big valley, sometimes you don't see the storm coming for the BIG hill blocking your view.  So we learned to be vigilant, and if we heard thunder, to beat feet for the house or the barn, whichever was closest.

And if we chose the barn, stay inside. Don't peek out at the rain and lightning, because "lightning balls roll right off the barn roof onto the ground." Yeah. I'm grinning as I write that, because that is what grandma said. Was it another cautionary tale? I don't know. There is such a thing as ball lightning. It's rare. I think if grandma saw it even once in her life, it would have been enough to have her warn us about it till the cows came home.  And she did.

All that aside, have you ever wondered why it is, in spring when the world is all winter-brown and bleached tan, that after a good thunderstorm the world turns green overnight? It does. It's nothing short of stunning--the change that occurs. And the neatest part?  There is science behind what the old timers have known (through simple observation) for centuries.

Nitrogen is one of the big three in a bag of fertilizer. The first number on the bag represents nitrogen content.  It's one of the big three because it is SO very necessary for plants. And the role it plays in plant growth is that of leafy, vegetative, green growth--as opposed to root growth or flower/fruit formation.

So what does that have to do with lightning making the world turn green? Lightning changes things. It "fixes" nitrogen in the soil into a useable form.

Your soil could be full of nitrogen, but if it's in a form that a plant's roots can't "take up" (absorb), then it may as well be tiny plastic balls.  What happens when lightning occurs is a plant lover's sort of alchemy. It turns the nitrogen into a usable form by separating the nitrogen molecules to the other molecules they were bound with. The plant roots gobble it up and it goes to work--that fast! A lawn can turn green overnight after a spring thunderstorm.

Lightning--photo caught with my cellphone.




25 comments:

  1. Wow! The colors in your photo are just stunning!

    I love waking up to that green you talk about, but I never knew why the color changed so fast. Thanks.

    Have a great weekend, Teresa!

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    1. Thanks, Dana. And with a cell phone, no less--and it was a couple of years old. I was surprised when I viewed the pics on the computer. :-)

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  2. Well, that's something I didn't connect with thunderstorms! I just thought the moisture did the greening. Thanks. You've added to my scattered, but important information.

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    1. Thanks, Lee. :-) Writers heads tend to be full of seemingly random information. We'd excel on Jeopardy. :-)

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  3. Great post. I had no idea the important lightning plays on the soil. What I find really amazing is how fast life takes off - especially if you've ever seen one of those nature shows that portrays the rapid rise (and fall) of life when it rains in arid places.

    Well done!

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    1. Thanks, Cindy! Yes! I've seen the shows. It is amazing. Life does what it has to do. No compromises, no mercy, opportunistic to the end. Thanks for visiting. :-)

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  4. I never heard of a lightning ball.

    So funny about the nitrogen. We just had a thunderstorm in the middle of the night a few nights ago. Now all the flowers are blooming. Hm.

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    1. Hi Theresa. It is a fascinating subject. Ball lightning is rare, indeed. but there is no doubt to most scientists that it does exist. :-)

      Thanks for visiting. :-)

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  5. I love the info about nitrogen. Yay for nitrogen and green plants in Spring! We almost never get thunderstorms or rain over here in Egypt. I miss them...
    New follower - Great post! :-)

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    1. Wow, Lexa, what takes you to Egypt? The thunderstorms will be waiting for you when you return.:-) Thanks for visiting. :-)

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  6. Oh for a pouring down rain...lightning balls and bolts welcome. I won't stick my head out of the barn! Here in Texas we need it so badly. What a wonderful 'Grandma Memory'. Great post...folksy and informative.

    Thanks for stopping by my Letter L post. I wanted to let you know that if you are a knitter, you'd love Stephanie McPhee's books. She also has a Blog...The Yarn Harlot.

    My Letter 'L'..The Leatherwood Lace Collar
    Sue CollectInTexasGal
    AtoZ LoneStar Quilting Bee

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    1. Oh my Sue, I hope you guys get some rain!

      Thanks for your visit and all your kind words. :-)

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  7. Thanks for stopping by my blog today. I'm a new follower here. I love learning things, and I learned about lightning and nitrogen here. It is amazing how the grass turns green so quickly. Now I'm off to research lightning balls!

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    1. You are welcome, Carol, and thank you. I'll be returing the follow, shortly :-)

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  8. I did not know that lightening changes Nitrogen into use able form. Also I did into know that there are things like lightening balls. I always wondered what good is lightening for. You write such informative facts. Thanks.

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  9. I will add to the chorus. I noticed the seemingly overnight change of our landscape, just today. In the past two days we have had storms. Today the sun came out and it’s pink, green, and yellow outside now.
    Now I know how and why.
    Thanks.

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    1. You're welcome, Lynda. It is almost magical how much change comes so quickly! :-)

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  10. I love lightning and I learned something about it that I didn't know before. This was an interesting post, and the photo was awesome! :)

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  11. Very cool! Didn't know that lightning helped green up things!
    Pam at 2 Encourage

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  12. Wanted you to know this post has been accepted into the special A-Z edition of the Woven Tale Press. I don't think you left your email on the submit page so would appreciate your emailing me at sandratyler@me.com referencing this URL. Great post!

    Sandra

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  13. I was just telling Kelly about the lightning and nitrogen the other day,thanks for letting me know it was not just an old myth.

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    1. Sure! And if you ever want any more useless information, just ask. You never know when you'll get to be on Jeopardy, right? ;-)

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