Musings

Friday adventure

We drove to Athens to enjoy family company and a lovely luncheon. This caprese salad is made with basil from their garden—knock-out good!

On our return, we approached this looming cloud, and eventually motored through a deluge…

…and, on the other side, by the time we reached our neighborhood: dry roads.

OTR

The low-angle light was especially pretty this morning.

Then, taaah-daaah, we got on the road (OTR). The “marine” layer was thick-ish at The Bridge, and, also, we understand from others who treked north, along Lake Superior at Grand Marais. Since it was present through mid-day, and the sun had long been out, I’d say that’s a persistent layer.

We drove in and out of rain zones….

We even saw a rainbow. Apologies for the snap, but you know they don’t last. I tried to get another shot, and the color had become almost imperceptible.

Ohio has upgraded rest areas along I-75 to have almost lounge areas and museum displays in them.. Outside, there’re signs about native plants, mostly trees, but this is a showy not-tree I don’t remember seeing before (my ignorance is vast). Also, there’s a loop to stroll with many signs to study, I think part of Dolly Parton’s books-for-kids-under-five outreach program somehow (didn’t take the time to walk it—next time?).

Morning moments

This was an hour after sunrise, and the sky portends precipitation. And, indeed, we did get some rain, enough to call it rain, but no storm, just dripping. Then, ta-dah, clearing for the rest of the day.

I recall sweet peas blooming all around the cottage, mixed in the orchard grasses. Today, only a few are left. Maybe they did better when the grasses were cut by this time? Dunno. This one’s hanging with a yellow goatsbeard gone to seed, and perhaps another that has already had its seeds blown away.

Otherwise, we had a chore-filled day I really do not want to detail. Onward.

Changeable

The weather flip-flopped all day. This was at 6:18am. Dry, with strange orange layer along the horizon to the north, and solid cloud-cover above.

By 10am, it was pouring, with thunder and lightning to keep us alert. That’s how the day went. Right now, it’s fading off a rain/thunder/lightning phase.

I’m glad to have the rain, although less excited about the accompanying audio track.

Sun-shines

You can look at the early sun…

…and you can turn around and see what it’s lighting up.

Here’s late-day low-angle sun backlighting a rhubarb leaf.

It’s only right to celebrate the sun on the longest day of the year.

Sunny day; rainy evening

The morning fog thickened after I took this, but I was bizzzeeee inside, so you’ll have to imagine what a later shot would have been like.

I like that the forget-me-nots have flowers on the ends and what the botanical types describe as tulip-shaped pods that contain the seeds along the stems. Anyway, I enjoy the flowers with the pods…togetherness?

Rays of sunshine

I’m tickled by how the droplets are focusing the sunlight.

Post-precip

We’re still in a drought for the year, but June’s totals are approaching the month’s modern average. [You see the raindrops, eh?]

I was totally surprised to discover, sheltered as I am in horticultural matters, that this is in the milkweed family; I knew it as butterfly weed. The pods look like spiky cylindrical okras.

Hoping…

Looking forward to weekend rain…too much drought, fire, smoke, pollen….

Hoping for a wind shift

Have you heard about the wildfires in the southern part of the state? We can smell them here, and the skies over downtown at midday were quite hazy. Yikes.