Thunderheads

When I was a kid, my grandparents gifted my parents a small herd of hereford heifers.  Those young cattle drifted against a barb wire fence in the middle of a thunderstorm.  A bolt of lightning hit the fence and killed them all.

When I was 8 years old, my grandfather gave me a horse named Lucky, and he gave my sister his horse who's name was Patty.

The horse pasture was the same as those heifers were in when they were killed.  When we'd have thunderstorms I'd go out my bedroom window to be with the horses so I knew they were safe.  I did not want them near a wire fence when lightning was hitting the sky.

I always wondered what the horses felt in the storms for they seemed to know so much more than I did. Did they see thunderbirds that told them in advance how severe the storm would be?  Did nature give them insights to help guide them through storms?

All these questions were in my mind as I created this painting and the memory of those nights came back to me.