Wind, Rain, Hail and Tornadoes

It’s been a few days longer than I thought or wanted since I’ve shared a message. Life and weather are really happening around us here in Parker, Colorado.
Yesterday was the eighth (I think) day in a row where we had tornado warnings near us. Thankfully, none of them were in our backyard – or even within sight!
The boys and I went to Castlewood Canyon yesterday to sign them up for the Junior Ranger program. While there it began to rain pretty hard. We decided to leave and go out to lunch in Castle Rock. A wonderful Irish restaurant was our intended destination.
On the way to Castle Rock we entered the worst hail storm I have ever witnessed in my life. I honestly thought the hail was going to crack or break through my windshield. Thankfully, we made our way, slowly, through the storm.
We arrived in Castle Rock to discover that the Irish restaurant was closed. How sad that such a wonderful, beautiful and unique restaurant was no longer open. An unfortunate sign of the times, “For Lease,” was in the window.
We ended up at Red Robin and had a wonderful lunch while watching the tornado – on the ground – near Elizabeth, but not near us… once again.
We also saw a beautiful bird that we had never seen before. This beautiful bird was bright and colorful – warm browns, tans and a bit of black. It had a large black beak and red eyes. As soon as we figure out what he was I’ll share his identity. If anyone has a suggestion I’m open to hearing!
Thank you for sharing a part of our day with us. Be safe, happy and healthy.