Lightning Storm

 

Tonight the crickets were singing while a distant storm illuminated the sky. I captured my first lightning shot. Years ago I took a night photography class with my Pentax K1000, but I haven't tried anything with my digital camera before now. The forecast is for rain, but it looks like it has passed us by again.

Where's My Kayak?

Today we finally got a big storm. Real rain. As in over 5 inches! Everything just let out a big sigh of relief. The dry creek ran. Cracked soil expanded, trying to confiscate my sandals as I rushed around checking on the animals.

We'd gotten 3/8 of an inch last night, so this new amount is causing some flooding! Not enough to worry about yet, although Phoebe and Finley were not amused standing in their sheep "pond" this morning. Also, rain blew into the new coop from the unfinished overhang creating a small playa lake in the middle of the pine shavings. The chickens were all standing around looking at it while King Avelino tested the water with a foot and complained loudly.

It's temporarily brought the river back up to something worth kayaking--from near 0 to 260 cfs. Our dry well, however, has yet to see any results. There's more rain in the forecast for tonight and the rest of the week, so we can hope!

Sunday Stills: The Elements

We were certainly out in "the elements" on our recent vacation. Here's a storm rolling in over what used to be the Kiowa National Grasslands in the panhandle of Texas.

The last time I visited a couple decades ago, the grass was as tall as me. Back then, you might have recognized it as the place where the buffalo scene in Dances with Wolves was shot. But there are no longer any signs (or signage) of it being a protected grassland. Perhaps it was lost to the last administration. What a pity.

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I wish I could figure out a way to upload a larger file in Blogger, as these next images are humongous files and very sharp. I will be writing more about this exciting trek along the Rio de Pueblo de Taos River gorge in New Mexico and getting caught in this electrical storm without shelter, dumping two inches of hail on us. You can see the faint line of the trail along the left side of the gorge wall. My husband kept asking if I should really be standing there shooting in it.

click to biggify

Lucky enough to live through it, but not fortunate enough to catch one of the many lightning bolts in my photos! Do you like it better in color or altered color?

For more photos of the elements be sure to visit Sunday Stills.