Dusk Before the Storm

The sun is finally out after four days of dreary and wet skies. I usually don’t think of tropical storms living in Virginia. But with the crazy weather and hurricane season anything is possible. So when we learned we were going to be in Ophelia’s path I wasn’t looking forward to the long dark weekend through yesterday. But on the Friday evening before the upcoming storms the skies were simply beautiful. It was almost ethereal. My husband doesn’t get why I love looking at the evening sky. When we moved to northern Virginia from Capitol Hill four years ago we made sure we had a western view for the purpose of seeing the sky at dusk. He wasn’t even moved by the Milky Way that we saw in southern France with his old medical school colleague and family. I thought it was cool. But then we had a telescope when we were youngsters and enjoyed looked at Venus and the constellations. So as the sky changed from early to late evening the oranges and reds and hues came to life. I’m looking forward to the next time. 

Tropical Storm Colin and Florida Feathered Friends

Whenever we visit Florida we take a ride to Pasadena pond to see what our feathered friends are up to. The birds look very different here than in Washington - except maybe for the ducks at the reflecting pond. Usually when we come to Florida the weather is reasonably good. But not this time. Tropical storm Colin is making a mess for a lot of us - including our bird friends. They looked pretty sad with the rain soaking them up, but the ducks didn't seem to mind it. We decided to at least get out for breakfast and we managed to avoid the torrential downpours that come and go in bursts. The streets look like rivers and the cars look like boats sailing through the huge puddles. When we lived in Milwaukee the snow storms kept us indoors. In DC we've had snowstorms, earthquakes, and rain storms. But in Florida it's the tropical rain and hurricanes that make life miserable. They are all equally bad if one gets affected by weather events. Unfortunately I am one of those, but the birds didn't seem to care for it either.