Angry Skies

Rainbows apologize for angry skies.  ~Sylvia Voirol

It was a hazy, hot and humid July afternoon. We were sitting outside on the front step (back at Frank's old place) watching the clouds gather in the sky. Weather was coming.



The sky was spotty - grey in most parts but here and there, the sun shone through, spilling across the field.






Directly above us, angry clouds were slowly churning. It wouldn't be long.






The clear spots became fewer and farther between and the hues became subtle. You might think that I desaturated this photo but the day had taken on its own black and white effect.






It thundered, lightninged and poured profusely. Benny wisely decided to come in out of the rain (where he had been squinting madly to avoid getting water in his eyes) and watch from the sheltered overhang. (Gayle, you recently asked about Benny. How could I not oblige you with a photo?)






Once it was over, the sun warmed the skies with lovely rays of light.






Moistened trees glistened in the sunlight.






And all was well in that magical space between rain and sun.

This was another scheduled post so that you know I haven't forgotten you. I'm just keeping busy while setting up one house while trying to sell the other. More coming up in a few days.

If A Tree Falls...

A few posts back, I hinted at our witnessing a summer storm which was worse than the one I had illustrated with a few photos at that time. This is the story of that storm. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon at the cottage, and Frank and I had returned from a couple of hours of fishing for walleye.


I had caught this beauty which Frank measured at just about 22 inches. This photo credit belongs to him. We were considering a second go-round at this lovely lake when the wind suddenly began to pick up. It would seem that some dramatic weather was imminent.


Windblown Benny agreed.

Clouds blew in and trees swayed and bowed down with the force of the wind. Lightning, thunder and heavy rain accompanied this show of Nature's force. I picked up my camera to photograph what I could, when Frank, who was watching the show through the kitchen window was heard to utter "Oh, crap!" just seconds after I heard a relatively subtle cracking sound.



A glance outside that window showed one tree shouldering the upper body of a fallen pine. It wasn't uprooted as you might be able to see by the angle, but snapped in two, about three feet above ground level.

We knew that the other tree wouldn't hold its weight for much longer and just as it dawned on us that it could fall on the cottage, it completed its descent. We never heard the crash, bang, shatter or thump. All we heard was a slight scratching sound and then nothing.

When we regained consciousness...

No, I'm kidding of course. We were very lucky as we were spared any further damage. The scratching sound we heard was the very tip of the tree gently brushing against the living room window as it landed on the deck just outside. It fell across the steps, precisely between the rails. It couldn't have been directed to a better spot if we'd tried.

Here's a view the tree through the living room window, where it landed on the deck while the storm raged on.



It was a short-lived disturbance and the skies soon cleared. Something needed to be done about the tree as it blocked our access past the front of the house, though we could still get around it by exiting through the back door.



Frank got to work sawing off the top of the tree.



His nephew and friend dragged it off behind the cottage.



This is a view of the trunk at the break.



The deck needed sweeping and the rest of the tree needed to be turned into next year's firewood. The clothesline and hammock which had been attached to it needed a new home on another trunk.



All of that was done eventually but not before photographing the beautiful colours of the lichen which was growing on its bark.

Needless to say, we were very fortunate. Years earlier, I'm told, a similar storm blew through which dropped another, larger tree. It too, missed the cottage by just a smidge. After this summer's storm, I happened to glance up at the photograph of the smiling faces of Frank's late parents. It would seem that they were still looking out for their family and summer home. For this, I'm very grateful.

Summer Storm

Another scheduled mini-post. Things should get back to normal semi-soonish. Thanks for your kind comments despite my absence. They're so appreciated. I'll be around to visit as soon as time permits. Here are a few more photos from a previous visit to the cottage.


It was a perfectly beautiful sunny day and Frank and I were about to go out fishing. We looked to our right from where we stood on the dock and wondered if the gray skies were just passing through or if those clouds were building up.




A few minutes later we had our answer. We had enough time to empty the boat of everything which wasn't waterproof and head into the cottage to wait it out.





This photo wasn't in taken in black and white but the weather seemed to turn everything into monochrome. The storm lasted only a few minutes and the sun shone shortly afterward. No damage done. This was not the worst storm we had while up at the cottage. I'll write about that one another time.