So, There Was This Funnel Cloud... and Then Some Pesto!

We were driving back from Denver around 3:30ish yesterday, the storm clouds were most definitely getting ready to spill. I looked to my right, and I said to Jimmy, 'Is that, could it be, holy ****, really?????, ****, ****, ***'. I had my iPhone and camera w/ me, as I do @ all times. The thing is, seeing a funnel cloud, which you can literally see change second by second, is really scary!! It is hard to explain, like the wild fires here in Colorado. Having never experienced living through 1 wild fire, let alone 2 (#listentosmokeythebear), and having never seen a funnel cloud, in person (thankfully), until yesterday, all I can say is, it is almost like a shock to your system, and you immediately, and I mean immediately, go straight in to survival mode. We saw that we had some wiggle room to get home. Had some errands we were running and we were very close to the house. We made it to our last stop and heard one of the security men saying to a customer, 'We will hear from the National Weather Service if we need to evacuate!' The skies on either side of us were seriously questionable, at best. People were pulling over to take pics. Not us!!! We stayed in the car and made a b-line for home as I was snapping away. The tornado warning sirens were blaring over the entire metro-Denver area. Denver International Airport was emptied to lower levels for shelter. Apparently, they train for this, because the Gal @ the airport who was being interviewed was very very calm, which was a good thing. We made it home without issue and I knew the best thing for me would be to cook, or make something to stay busy. We just finished our last batch of pesto from last summers' haul, and I have been stocking up on pistachios and parm, prepping for this years harvest. Again, there was time to go out on the deck and pluck a bunch of basil, also in the hope that we would not lose power. You just never know. So, in time, the funnel dissipated, the first batch of (to die for) pesto was made. A huge sigh of relief all around. The skies cleared, and, well enough for us to have a gorgeous sunset!! Today, a beautiful day, bright, sunny. Never a dull moment....

To our left...

The funnel to our right...oy

The basil, so gorgeous..

Amy's famous pesto...

Summer sunset after the storm...

'Out of the south comes the whirlwind, and cold out of the north..' Job 37:9

Drama, Drama, Drama, but No Funnels...

Yesterday morning looked promising...

...but, there was a tornado warning...we drove through the park anyhow...

...and there it was, definitely a storm..please do not spin, please do not spin...

...storm clouds over the lake, so dramatic and beautiful...

...definitely time to exit and head home...

...we drove right into the dark cloud...

12 Mile Stables...time top stop taking pics an get home...

Yesterday we woke up to large cumulus clouds and thought that there might be promise for some sunshine and a long walk in the park. Things took a quick turn, and then there was a tornado warning issued for Arahapoe County...really, I thought, really???? We decided, after double checking the warnings, that it was okay to drive though Cherry Creek State Park and take some pics. We could see the enormous dark, foreboding skies to the south. The first 2 pics are looking north. I took shot after shot after shot, and I felt like I was taking the same picture over and over and over again, as the ginormous cloud just seemed to sit in the sky and not move or change...all the while, we knew that it was coming closer. We got out of the car at the lake, where I took the pic I posted on Instagram and Facebook. The beauty out-weighed the pending storm, but it was very clear at that point that we needed to head home...only 10 minutes away. By the time we reached the 12 Mile Stables, the rain started, and the darkness did not seem so bad after all. Little Kitty stayed as low as possible without plastering herself to the floor, and took her spot on the 2nd step down to Edward's space...safe. Amazingly, truly amazingly, after the downpour, the sun came blasting out and we did take that walk in the park, only to spot yet another storm on the horizon. When the 2nd storm hit, the wind was so vicious that Jimmy literally could not close one of the windows. That storm also blew through and the night gave us stars and a crescent moon. Today, more rain, they say. At the moment, quiet. We'll take it...

'There will be a shelter to give shade from the heat by day, and refuge and protection from the storm and the rain.'

                                                                                  Isaiah 4:6

After the Storms...Those Skies!!!

 

These days a good old fashioned Spring thunderstorm storm in Colorado, has turned into a weather event. Alarms going off, flash flood warnings and watches...all from the gi-nomous burn scars from the Waldo Canyon of 2012 fire, mentioned in the previous post, and the Black Forrest fire of last year. The mountain scar no longer retains water and as a result all the 'normal' flow of water which was soaked into the mountain, now runs down the mountain, bringing with it anything in its path. Mitigating has been worked on all year to help curb the flooding, but it has only been a year and there is still more work to do. We took a long afternoon drive yesterday, as the skies were in 'after the storm mode'! Everywhere, every glance, every turn of the head was another gorgeous scene of cloud formations, dark threatening skies, big big landscapes, as far as the eye could see. And, yes, the cows were lying down, as it did thunder and lightning later that evening...torrential. I took 33 pictures, deleted a few, did some editing on others. These were all taken within 1 hour in the late afternoon north of Colorado Springs!

Impressions...

 Bird impression on window...

 Clear in the afternoon sun

 Looks like an owl!!

 Using the sky as a backdrop..

It was a couple of weeks ago. I heard the thud. Even w/out ever having heard this sound (other than in the movies or on TV), I knew exactly what it was. A bird had flown into, or was blown into one of the large windows of the house. I completely forgot about it until yesterday. The sun is now higher in the sky w/ Spring on the horizon, and we are getting direct sunlight around 3:30-4:30ish. Great beams of sunshine! Edward noticed it. That bird who had made such a familiar sound, even though I never heard it 'for real', left his/her mark in great detail on the window he/she slammed into. The afternoon light picked it up, clear as a bell. Edward said that there was a technical term for the 'impression', called 'volumetric lighting'. Volumetric lighting is a technique used in 3D computer graphics to add lighting effects to a rendered scene. It allows the viewer to see beams of light shining through the environment; seeing sunbeams streaming through an open window is an example of volumetric lighting, also known as crepuscular rays. The term seems to have been introduced from cinematography and is now widely applied to 3D modelling and rendering. However, in this case, the beams of light are for real, as is the bird....we hope that the bird is okay after leaving such an impression!

The bottom pic is from this AM, as weather has been so much of everybody's discussion. We are expecting a snow storm tomorrow, hence, the clouds today.

Beach Rocks Came in Handy Today....

New banner!!!

My shady, windy corner display..

Looks like a geology table!!!

Hey, it's all natural!!

The strings, ropes, and bungee cords hold up the display!

A peek down the street.

My tent neighbor didn't show up...but, the street was full.

The gifted young people from the RI Kung Fu Club

Drumming out the beat...they were terrific!

Today was the 'Whole Foods 3rd Annual Block Party' on the East Side of Providence. It was everything you would think a block party would be...lots of families, dogs, people with their bicycles, some with babies attached to the front of the handlebars, a great D.J., lots of hamburgers and hots dogs, plenty of water to go around. Doing an outdoor event is always a gamble. Will the weather hold out, will it rain, be too cold or too hot, will there be a gusty wind? The vendors are checking the weather reports very carefully all week. Well, I knew that it was going to be a hot one today...sweltering, in fact. BUT, I was assigned a spot under a tree, completely shaded from the blistering sun. WOW, somebody up there likes me, in fact, loves me...this was great. However, the wind was so gusty, that I needed my beach rocks to hold down the cards...many of which did blow down the street before I had a chance to get everything in place. Jimmy and I rigged up 'something', with string, rope and bungee cords, tied around (and around and around and around ) a tree, wrapped on a leg of the tent, all to hold up the framed pictures on the display. Glory be, it worked!!!! We were very impressed with ourselves. So, it was a good day of sales, the entertainment from the Rhode Island Kung Fu Club was energetic and colorful. A perfect addition to our day. Thank you Shawna for a well run event....and on to the next project, as they say.

Rocks to Rainbows..

So, we decided to high tail it to the beach this afternoon. A perfect 'beach day', it was not, but we thought if we could get a good walk in, maybe some rock collecting, a nap and a nosh, it would be a well spent afternoon. I took off first, with my precious yellow bucket for the rocks. I managed a good haul, (although these pics are a mere sampling) from a fairly good choice of rocks (versus awesome...when there are simply waaaaay too many!!), as I took my sweet time in the search. We are in no rush at the beach. I had not looked back towards Pt. Judith. When I did turn around, a heavy dense fog had descended upon the beach. I picked up the pace a bit, as I could only see about 100 feet in front of me, and it was getting dark. I can always pick out our real estate by our umbrella, but I could not see it. I started to get nervous. Finally, after what seemed like a much longer walk than it was, I found Jimmy, snug as a bug, and asleep. He had his iPhone 'plugged in', so I called his name a few times before I woke him up. He was shocked when he looked around him and realized that he could not see well past the few people sitting near us....thus began the afternoon of weather. We saw it all, from the thick, thick fog at the beach, to beautiful breaks of sun, to extremely overcast threatening skies, to heavy downpours, all leading to what I simply knew was coming...yes, a rainbow. It was in the air, you knew it was out there someplace after that last rain. Sure enough, the photo is taken from the upstairs of our home looking east...always a most welcome sight, instantly imparting a childlike sense of wonder, seasoned with a ray of hope. We got it all, the walk, the rock collecting, a nap, of course, the nosh, all topped off with that beautiful rainbow...I would say, a good time was had by all!!

It Rained, It Poured....

Miss Monarch butterfly, was most definitely the 'star' of the show!

Monarch butterfly, laying one on Matthew!!

Pretty fairy girl...

Whole Foods, well, food....

The flowers were happy...

Liz, and her imagination...awesome!!

Some of the framed pieces, display...

'Gift in February' and 'Dairy Cow, Gal'

'In Full Bloom'

'Lush Field, Schartner Farms, RI'

We woke up at the crack of dawn..although we could not see it through the clouds. The weather was looking grim, the forecast called for rain. And so it did. As my husband and I were driving over to the Garden City Center at about 8:15am, it rained, it poured!!! All the while, I was thinking about my 'paper goods'....yes, the cards are protected by plastic sleeves, the matted pieces are protected by plastic sleeves, and the framed pieces, well, there is glass, but the backing does not like heat or humidity. The challenges started very early on, w/ the setting up of 'the tent'. One of the connecting pieces broke, so w/ the help of my new friend, Dave, we improvised. The ground was wet (large parking lots don't have 'drainage'), it was cold. However, everybody forged ahead w/ their displays and the festivities began!!!!

It was amazing at how many people came out, umbrellas in tow, rain gear, or not. The very young to the very old, strolled through the many aisles of vendors showing their wares, from sea glass, to handmade jewelry and soaps, plenty of artwork, photography, local farms, (just to name a mere few) and food, there was plenty of food!!!! My husband, bless his heart, went home and brought me my winter coat, I was that cold!!!! I love talking to the people who come to my 'tent'. One woman was so excited to be sending 'Milk in Progress' to a friend who lives on a farm in England, another almost had her eyes popping out of her head when she bought a matted 'Dahlia Center' (my top seller of the day in cards!!) for her bedroom. One woman spent time, patiently deciding how she was going to hang the 3 framed pieces she bought!

I wish I had been able to freely roam the aisles as well, but I did get to spend time w/ my tent neighbor, Matthew. He is an author and illustrator, he lives in Mystic. He too, had the same internal dialogue while taking the hour drive from Mystic in the rain, to Rhode Island, '...to set up, or not to set up', but he did. We had some good conversations in between all the action. All in all, it was a good day and we were happy to be part of Festival Fete! We showed up, and that was the important thing.

A hearty thank you to Jennifer Neuguth, from Festival Fete, and Holly Dion, from Whole Foods, Garden City for their tremendous work to bring such a big event to pass!!!

Whew...and on to the next project....