Sky Watch - Stormy March

Two nights ago we had a big storm pass overhead. The worst of it skirted to our NE, though a rotating cloud passed just outside our backyard.

These were taken in the aftermath, looking to the east where the angry wrath looked beautiful from a distance.




































As always the sunshine returns with the promise of clear skies on tomorrow's horizon...


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Sky Watch - Man's Best Friend

It's almost spring...and he knows it.
As soon as we step outside and he gets a whiff of my sneakers, he begins whining. I call his name and look him in the eye as his ears perk up, his dog smile frozen as he studies my face.

"Walkies?" I ask him. Immediately he jumps up, then runs around in anticipation. He has looked forward to this all winter: time to get back moving and journey down the dirt road with his people.

We don't go far, just up to the bridge a half mile away. The traffic is loud and busy so we don't linger. We like the solitude and the quietness that awaits in our backyard.

The cats all greet him as if he were back from an exotic getaway, and he acknowledges them with nonchalance; secure in the fact that he is indeed, man's best friend.

It's almost spring. We all are ready...




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The Dinosaur Lives!

Friday I was working outside, clearing up brush in the trench when I came across this little critter.

The horned-lizard or horny toad is such a peculiar creature. We don't see them often as they're hard to pick out in the grass. When I saw this one scrambling up the bank I snatched him up then called to my son to bring me my camera.

I shot with one hand while I held him with the other, and I have to admit I was a little glad I was wearing gloves! It was pretty bright outside so I wasn't sure what kind of photographs I was going to have when I checked them later.

I always tease my family that I don't believe in dinosaurs because, well...they just don't fit in with my time line of events! But seeing these interesting little creatures, it's easy to see that they're a miniature version of their giant ancestors.

Thankfully, nothing of that magnitude shared the trench with me on this day of outdoors cleaning!

Sky Watch Friday - Spring is Coming

The sky never fails to amaze me. You can look in one direction on a dozen different nights and be treated to a dozen different views.

I had fun watching the big fluffy cloud on the left as it floated over me. There was no threat on this beautiful evening. Just the promise of a spring-like day on the other side...



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"For You" - Remembering John

He first came into my life in the early 70's; a shaggy-haired, wire-rimmed man whose eyes sparkled and smile lit up the room. He was a part of my early adolescence with the songs that touched many hearts, and I sang along with both the notes of his melodies and his life.

Twenty years later he came to my hometown. I went to his concert with my neighbor and heard this song for the very first time. He was alone on the stage with just his piano, and you could have heard a pin drop in the hush that fell over the audience. I remember turning to my friend after he had finished and saying, "That is one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard." I still think so to this day. It's how I've always seen true love, and how I hoped it would be.

In memory of John Denver; a lovely spirit that left us too soon.... "For You".

Intriguing Rainbow

It started out as a beautiful rainbow in the eastern sky. A storm was skirting all around us, spilling a few raindrops on the ground yet allowing the sun to display a double rainbow that stretched all the way across the sky.

It looked as if the cars on the highway could run right into the pot of gold - the prismatic rays appeared so close - and there almost seemed to be a glow arising from the first and brightest rainbow.

As hard as I tried, I couldn't get far enough back to capture the whole image in my lens so settled for watching it "first person" as it spread its finery against the gray clouds.

I shot from different places in the yard as the clouds continued to billow up and around the rainbows like a genie escaping from his bottle.

The buttery rays of evening turned the wild prairie grasses into a golden blanket from a technicolor dream and I zoomed in for a closer look.

The rainbow's colors intensified from a pastel palette to a richer tone, and it was dazzling in the making.

But then the smokey clouds began to gather and surround the colors in a contrast of charcoal fog. Though still beautiful, it was somewhat eery.

We escaped the storms that night, but it was an early reminder of what a spring in Kansas can hold.