What are you up to?

[brianvds]

Whew, we had a wicked storm roll through our area last night! Tons of rain, lightning, thunder and high winds. We had a lake in the backyard and are slowly pumping out the water (tiny yard!).
I'm amazed we didn't lose power, widespread outages everywhere.

As always this time of year, here in my neck of the woods we're waiting with bated breath for the rains to come - one never knows whether they will in any particular summer. It's in any event another month or two before we can expect much in the way of rain. Spring here is parched and hot!

 

[stlukesguild]

Terri- Whew, we had a wicked storm roll through our area last night! Tons of rain, lightning, thunder and high winds. We had a lake in the backyard and are slowly pumping out the water (tiny yard!).
I'm amazed we didn't lose power, widespread outages everywhere.

@stlukesguild : I think the system gained strength as it rolled across Lake Erie and slammed into Cleveland. Hope you all made it through without problems!

We've been getting pounded here lately. Wednesday, we had a nasty thunderstorm that had our poor pups scared to death and hiding under my desk and under the blankets. We got a torrential downpour that lasted all night and flooded many low-lying areas... including a section of I-90, the largest highway in the city.

Thursday morning started off cool and rapidly heated up. All the rain seems to have wakened the cicadas which are all "chirping"...

It is hard to believe how loud these critters get when hundreds... rather thousands of them begin singing to each other. The weather in the afternoon became stifling with heat into the 90s and the humidity just as high. With the sound of the cicadas, it felt as if we were living in the jungle.

It cleared up by afternoon, which was great because my wife and I were headed downtown Cleveland for a concert. We didn't get home until around 11:30 PM. A half-hour after that, one alarm went off on my phone from the National Weather Service announcing that we were under a Severe Thunderstorm Warning. A few minutes later, a much louder alarm went off announcing that we were now under a Tornado Warning and should seek shelter. At the same time, the air-raid sirens in this town just east of Cleveland all started to wail. My wife and I were already in bed so I got dressed, got my shoes on, and prepared to grab the pups and run them down to the basement which was still partially flooded from all the rain the night before. I shut down the fans and air-conditioner so I could listen for any sounds of a tornado. About 20 minutes later, the National Weather Service downgraded the Tornado Warning to a Severe Thunderstorm Warning as the worst of the storm had already passed us. Today, experts from the National Weather Service surveyed the damages in downtown Cleveland and concluded that an F-1 tornado had touched down in the center of the city!

Predictions are for continued thunderstorms with the potential for hail, flooding, and tornados through Sunday.

The "dog days of August" indeed!

 

[Terri]

As always this time of year, here in my neck of the woods we're waiting with bated breath for the rains to come - one never knows whether they will in any particular summer. It's in any event another month or two before we can expect much in the way of rain. Spring here is parched and hot!

I know you all have been parched down there - here's hoping for rain your way!

SLG, glad you got through it - and no losing power! Very stormy night.

 

[brianvds]

Highlight from my latest nature walk: I heard a rustling in the undergrowth, though it was a lizard that would make for a nice photo, and instead it turned out to be a hedgehog. They're apparently quite common in the area, but they're elusive and mostly nocturnal, so I was lucky to see one. Couldn't get very clear photos, because I didn't want to disturb it by crashing through the dense vegetation, but still, one can at least see it's little spines...

To compensate for the hedgehog's shyness, the mongoose did its usual cute overload thing out in the open...

 

[JennieJo]

We're just coming out of winter, still cold winds but birds are very active. And friendly. Or not!

 

[JennieJo]

Wow Kay. Those pics are something else!

St. Luke, I don't envy you. Even though I have always wanted to teach, I forget about all the "other" stuff I never really think about. It's not just about the kids and connecting with them, the rewards, and all the good stuff, etc. One has to endure all the little details, red tape, paperwork, meetings, bureaucracy, and the rest. Not to mention the time it takes you away from your own artwork.

Got to spend grandparents day, , at a school. Love feeling the energy generated, without any effort, by kids, these were primary students, again. But other memories ... meetings, paperwork for example, weren't happy to be locked away. They kept popping up.

 

[stlukesguild]

SLG, glad you got through it - and no losing power! Very stormy night.

I found out yesterday that the tornado damages were far worse than I thought. A church downtown... one of the oldest buildings in the city... took a major hit to its roof. Going out grocery shopping I passed several businesses boarded up due to the damages. One of the electric substations and a fire station also were damaged and were running on generators. A friend whose father lived in a nearby suburb informed us that there were many in the town without power and they were looking at 3-5 days before it would be fully restored. All I can say is that I'm glad for today's cooler weather. I had an early morning appointment and enjoyed the 60-degree air through the open car windows in spite of the fact we were driving through fog so thick that we could only see a couple hundred feet ahead.

 

[JennieJo]

As always this time of year, here in my neck of the woods we're waiting with bated breath for the rains to come - one never knows whether they will in any particular summer. It's in any event another month or two before we can expect much in the way of rain. Spring here is parched and hot!

We're beginning to worry that our rains will be late. Very dry. at the moment.people already buying in water.

 

[Artyczar]

We are still watching the town recover from Hurricane Hilary here. Never in my life would I think such a thing would happen in the desert, but it was quite a thing. Up here, it wasn't as damaging as it was 4,500 feet under us in the Coachella Valley (the Palm Springs areas) where the roads are still messed up, some indefinitely. There are a lot of homes on dirt roads up here, and I feel bad for them because some of those are totally screwed, but over time they will all get smoothed out I guess (depending). Joshua Tree is not a "city," but an unincorporated area of San Bernardino County. Fixing gaping holes in the streets all over the place isn't top of the list.

Coachella Valley is Riverside County and each of those towns has its own funding. The road that leads in and out of Palm Springs from where we live is now gone. They are talking about building a bridge over the part that caved in, but who knows how long that will take?

The road to the main highway is now cleared (to one lane) and we can take that into Coachella Valley, but that makes the drive into Palm Springs a little over an hour, when before it was only 40-45 minutes. This is where I go any time I see a doctor.

 

[brianvds]

Saw these wondrously creepy dolls in a local Chinese shop. They just beg to be turned into pop surrealist paintings...

 

[JStarr]

Articulated! You can turn their little heads right around and make their elbows bend the other way!

 

[Artyczar]

 

[Marc]

Watching a line of black birds slowly progress across the lawn, probing the soft soil as they go. They remind me of a row of dark uniformed policemen with thin sticks looking for crime evidence.

 

[OliveOyl]

Speaking of crime…

Maybe some of you (in the US) heard about the weekend shootings in Florida and Boston? Well apparently, the one in Boston happened at the annual Caribbean celebration parade (festive! joyous!) but it’s held in an area dubbed the “triangle of murder” (scary! dangerous!) There have been shootings - and deaths - from previous years at this event and so cops were out in full force. But despite that, there was an “altercation” of some sort between assholes with guns and the next thing you know, 8 people were shot, taken to local hospitals, and the ”celebration” abruptly ended. When we heard the news, our ears perked up because we once lived in Boston but then again, it’s just another day with another senseless shooting in the old USA.

But you know how they say, sooner or later everyone will be touched in some way because of the constant shootings? Well, yesterday morning we woke to frantic texts from our kid back on the east coast (right outside of Boston). It turned out one of the 8 people shot was one of her best friends! She was shot in the arm, liver and spleen. While she’s still in critical condition, and in the ICU “with extra security” (?) she came out of surgery last night. Updates haven’t been very detailed or frequent, but as they say, thoughts and prayers, thoughts and prayers. Right. This girl has been on vacation with us (to Santa Fe) and has spent the night at our house many times. So we adored her. She’s adorable! There are still some “questions” swirling about the whole thing but we’re glad to hear, at least, that she’ll…survive. Ugh.

This isn’t meant to be about politics, and sorry it’s not more cheery. It’s just….what’s happening, man!

 

[Artyczar]

Oh Olive! That is just awful! I'm so sorry to hear. And yes, it eventually touches people we know. It has come somewhat close to us three times now, and I suspect it will continue to inch even closer. All I can say is that my heart goes out to you and your kids, the family of this girl, and everyone who loves and knows her, as well as the other victims. I don't think this is political, just senseless and horrible. It's also terrifying.

 

[OliveOyl]

Thanks Ayin (and Hermes and Jae) for your concern although doesn’t it seem weird to say even that? “Thanks?”

I often wonder how ALL OF US are managing to get through these days, right? I thought of you Ayin during Hilary (yeah, such a bitch she was…haha) but what a mess that was left behind. I’m glad you and Hannah didn’t get the brunt of the damage but I wondered if you felt the earthquake, too? Good grief, enough already. I used to think that living in California would be soooo scary because of the possibility that an earthquake might happen but now it seems there’s a whole smorgasbord of awful weather events that roll through on a regular basis. I mean, not just in California but all across the frigging planet. So many in fact, we can’t keep track anymore. Add into all these climate change catastrophes, all the shootings, and the broken politics…well, it’s amazing we can keep on trucking. BUT…I suppose we gotta keep finding what’s good and doing what makes us happy and being aware but detached while getting older. That’s a lot of mental balls to juggle, and we need extra big heads these days, but juggle we must!

(Philip Guston ^^^^) Okay…sorry for the sour veer into human reality. Now we can go back to animals and plants and landscapes….or to the better, non-human parts of reality! Carry on soldiers.

 

[Artyczar]

I've lived through many earthquakes, but never a hurricane. At least not in California. And we have the fires too! Most places in southern California, not just the desert, can't handle heavy rain. There are sunken areas in the streets and potholes galore now, plus little areas of sand and rocks. You have to watch where you're driving. But none of that compares to being shot for no reason. Don't worry about souring anything. This is the reality of life. We have no other choice but to carry on.

Thanks for the Guston image. I love him.

 

[Terri]

I'm....kind of speechless after catching up on this thread. All I can say is that I'm glad everyone is okay, and love and hugs to you all.

 

[moonreader123]

well. that is very beautiful , I will prabably share some of my photography here.

 

[brianvds]

Here in the south spring is definitely upon us...