Watching the Thunderhead

We moved to Virginia three months ago. We have a small balcony off of our living room on the fourth floor. From there we face mostly west and have a view of the sunset - my favorite time of the day and a condition about which unit we would purchase. Our condo on Capitol Hill really didn’t have any particular view. Living on the first floor limited any scene except pedestrians walking in and out of the building and to and from work. Our patio on the back side was surrounded by a fence and another wall. As much as possible and weather permitting, I’ll spend some time on the balcony. Luckily for us there is a balcony above ours which shields us from the rain and also provides an umbrella effect - to a point. The other day it looked like it was going to pour and I kept my sights on the thunderhead cloud that was forming, and pouring - rain on some location in the distance. It never reached us, but it was interesting to see the formation change over time. It feels a lot like Florida around here where afternoon thunderstorms are a very common event. I’m just glad we have a small outdoor space to take in the fresh air, sounds, and provides just the right amount of lovely seating space - and an escape route if it ever comes to that! 

The Clouds and Signs of Florida - and Big Dandy Don Garlits

Big Dandy Don Garlits doesn't mean anything to me. But growing up in Florida it was a name you always heard. We passed by the drag racing museum on our return road trip heading back to DC. Along the way, the clouds and signs are very unique to the sunshine state, and all too familiar. The baby alligators are still advertised along with pecans, and citrus, and taxidermy. I never really noticed both the cattle and horse farms. It's not unusual to see truckloads of watermelon. And of course it rains with the sun out.   We left my parents this morning. They both encountered medical emergencies at the same time so we started this unexpected road trip a week ago. Now we are moving on to the next phase and are hopeful things will go well. I'm very glad I have siblings, friends, well wishers and digital devices around. Florida looks better and better every time we visit. Maybe my dad had it right when we moved there 55 years ago.