Making lemonade

After sifting through several series of photos I'd made over the past week or two, I was going to post some cheerful spring photos, made while the sky was blue, the sun was shining, and temperatures were approaching the high 70s F (mid 20s C). Today we woke up to a different season - gray overcast skies, a howling north wind driving the rain horizontally, and a temperature of 39F (4C).

Our grandson is staying for the weekend while his parents enjoy a quick getaway. Plans for outdoor time had to be shelved, but the weather certainly doesn't put a damper on a 3-year old's ability to have fun. And what better fun than to see what's in the toy box and get down to some serious playing ...

The added benefit of rain

We actually had a break from the rain today - the first since last Saturday I think - and I used the opportunity to bring our refuse to the dump this morning (yes, friends, when you live on the edge of paradise they don't come and pick that up for you, hence I use my 'dump truck' to bring it there). On the return leg, my roving eye (remember, the other one stays firmly focused on the road) caught this reflection in the ditch. Technically speaking, I violated the ABC rule, however, since I was only 1 minute from home, I'm claiming a mulligan. I was back in a few minutes with the camera.

After lunch, we took advantage of the sun to cut the grass - it had almost grown to a height where Sasha might have got lost on the front lawn. And a good thing we did, too, because the skies opened up again at 4:00 p.m. I think there will be a bumper crop of mosquitoes, and reflections.

btw - can one of you blogger experts out there explain to me why, when I upload a photo that's 1200 x 900 it ends up at around 800 x 600 ? Is there anything I can do to keep it at the original upload size ?

(18-55mm  f10  1/40 sec  ISO100)

Rainy Day Blues

For a little background music for this post, you could do worse than listen to this.

I hope no one who reads this is from Vancouver (if you are, you'll be able to relate to this):

A woman was attending a conference in Vancouver. Each morning as she went to catch the bus outside the hotel to go to the conference centre, it was raining. On the third day, it was again raining incessantly as she clutched her umbrella at the bus stop. Exasperated, she turned to a young boy who was also waiting there.

"Young man", she asked, "tell me, does it ever stop raining here ?"

The lad turned to her and said "How should I know, lady. I'm only six !"

Well, apparently we are on our way to setting a rainfall record for April. Now, I don't want to compare our situation at all with those parts of the world where rain is causing serious flooding - it's nothing like that. But - the forecast is calling for more rain, every day through next Monday. Here's hoping that the sun makes a guest appearance before then.


(60mm  f2.8  1/80 sec  ISO100)

(Day 308) In the jungle, the mighty jungle

Those ominous clouds from yesterday's post not only ushered in a pretty decent rainstorm last night, but they were the advance guard of a system that brought waves of rain today. I say waves because we experienced bouts of pretty intense rain interspersed with periods of sunshine. The day after we arrived here I set our rain gauge outside - by this afternoon it had already registered 50 mm/2 in. of rain. And this evening we had another deluge that no doubt added to the total.

I recall that we had similar weather experiences earlier this summer. I know that Florida bills itself as the 'Sunshine State' and now I've determined that there are 2 types of sunshine here  - regular sunshine and liquid sunshine. Those 2 conditions go a long way towards explaining the jungle growing just outside the front window. During one of those 'regular sunshine' periods today I disappeared into it for a few moments to capture some images. (Now, don't misconstrue any of these comments as negative - I didn't have to shovel any of this precipitation !)

(18-55mm  f18 1/4 sec  ISO200)

(Day 303) Lemon-aid

Some people might call the type of day we had today a lemon day - leaves a sour taste in your mouth and doesn't at all meet your expectations, especially after a couple of very nice days we had earlier in the week. Weather doesn't usually put a damper (ew, bad pun) on my spirits - I can go-with-the-flow, so to speak. And since I'm on a roll here with a bunch of clichés, how about the one of making lemonade when you're presented with lemons.

In that vein then, the lemonade was literally hanging from everything today as a light drizzle turned into a steady downpour. But I was determined to capture some of it. You should have seen me out there in the yard today - carrying a tripod with camera attached in one hand and trying to keep everything - me included - dry by holding a large candy red umbrella in the other ! Good thing we live back far from the road.

NOTE: we will be on the road for the next 2 days as we make our first foray as 'snowbirds' to Florida. I'm pretty sure I won't be able to post or visit anyone's blog during that time; I shall try my best to capture an image or two along the way, however. I appreciate your visits and comments and hope to be back in full swing by Tuesday.

(60mm  f4  1/50 sec  ISO200)

 (70-200mm  f5.6  1/40 sec  ISO200)

(70-200mm  f14  1/13 sec  ISO200)

(Day 234) Hanging by a thread

Sunday Aug. 22, 2010

The weather forecasters sure were off today. We had traveled 450km/280mi yesterday to celebrate our twin daughters' birthdays, and a barbecue had been planned for today. However, a light drizzle had already changed our plans from a back yard event to an indoor one. The forecasters had predicted that a light rain in the morning would give way to sunny skies by early afternoon. I hope they didn't buy lottery tickets this weekend because were they wrong ! By mid-afternoon the light drizzle had given way to a steady downpour.

But I digress. I did manage to produce a nice batch of barbecued hamburgers before the downpour really got underway. While everyone was arriving, at our family's usual staggered times, I had done my inspection of the flower gardens (which we had created last year from a barren and quite muddy back yard). I noticed several spider's webs with droplets of drizzle suspended in them. And so, while the weather forecasters may have delivered lemons, the weather actually produced 'lemonade'.

(60mm  f5.6  1/250 sec  ISO800)

(60mm  f11  1/100 sec  ISO800)

(Day 227) Rained out - but not all is lost

It's been a while since we've gone on a picnic so we decided to go after church today. The sky looked overcast and we'd had a brief sprinkle in the morning, but things didn't look too bad. We packed a lunch and the dog and set off. We had picked out a spot along the Rideau system that we had briefly visited a number of years ago. Along the way I noted an interesting bridge in Lyndhurst and made a mental note that I should come back some time to make some photos around the area.

All was going well - we reached our destination, grabbed our things and the dog and found a lovely spot by the water, under some trees. We enjoyed our lunch, but as we were sheltered by the trees we hadn't noticed that a light rain had started. But it stopped again by the time we were finished lunch. Off we went to watch the lockmaster at work guiding a couple of boats into the locks. Once the operation was well under way we decided to walk over a wooden bridge towards some boats moored on the far side of the river. A soft rain started again so we ducked under a large tree to stay dry - poor choice. This time the rain didn't let up but intensified - within minutes it was dripping off the leaves onto us. We ran to the nearby restaurant and got under a broad overhang.

Well, we waited for a break in the downpour and at a quick pace made our way back to the car some half mile away. The sky didn't look like it would relent, so reluctantly we elected to head back home. And wouldn't luck have it that as we neared the stone bridge again the rain slackened off to a light drizzle. Just enough time to dash out and make a few photos of the oldest stone bridge in the province, dating back to 1856-57.

(18-55mm  f6.3  1/80 sec  ISO200)

(18-55mm  f6.3  1/25 sec  ISO200)

Oops, for the second week, I forgot to add my Sunset Sunday contribution. So I've edited this (already-published) post to add one that was shot a few days ago in Merrickville:

(18-55mm  f11  1/100 sec  ISO200)

(Day 220 A cloud over our heads

We decided we should go back to the same beach we went to a few days ago. That's where we had fun all day jumping around in the waves, and where I obtained my toasty skin (which is feeling much better, thank you). The sky looked a little ominous when we headed out but appeared much clearer in the direction we were going. Besides, the forecast indicated only a 30% chance of rain.

Well, when we arrived after a 75-minute drive, the sun was doing its best to break through the clouds, and into the water we all went. The sky to the north still looked rather nasty but we determined that it was headed away from us. Not so.

Before long, it looked like this:

(18-55mm  f14  1/1250 sec  ISO800)

We debated whether we should leave the beach area, but that decision was made for us, and most of the beach goers, with the first thunderclap. The clouds quickly moved away to the east and we took up our place again on the beach and back in the water. It looked like we might escape it yet:

(18-55mm  f5.6  1/200 sec  ISO200)

Although we heard the occasional faraway rumble, the weather held up nicely and we resumed our water fun for the next hour. However, the sky didn't clear, and in fact, the rain we could see falling to the north appeared to be coming our way. We ignored it as long as we could, thinking wishfully that it would bypass us. We wished for about 5 minutes longer than we should have. We suddenly noticed that the black clouds had gathered right over our heads and were about to burst open on us. We scrambled to gather all the beach paraphernalia and scurried across the beach, over the road, and into the parking lot. Too late - the torrential downpour pelted us before we made it. However, since we were wet anyway, it didn't really matter, and we drove back in our soggy bathing suits. We'll try to clean all the beach sand out of the rental car tomorrow (and hopefully the seats are dry by then too).

I quickly made this photo as everyone was gathering everything - these were the clouds we had ignored just before the downpour:

(18-55mm  f8  1/200 sec  ISO200)

(Day 170) All good things come from above

We haven't been here long enough to really know, but we're noticing a weather pattern. Days typically start out with clear blue skies, then become very hot (41C/103F) by mid-afternoon, at which point the clouds start roiling, and before long great thunderheads form. Then, flashes of lightning slash the sky followed by deep booming rolls of thunder - the kind you can feel as well as hear. Sometimes rain, driven by a fierce wind, comes flying past in sheets. After this fury has spent itself, it seems that the whole act is packed up and moved on to the next location. Then a gentle rain falls, as if to assure all living things that goodness also comes from above.

When things had calmed down again today I found remnants of that gentle rain still resting on some of the plants.

(60mm  f4  1/125 sec  ISO200)

(Day 124) Take cover

The weatherman had predicted some thunderstorms for this afternoon. However, they were also predicted for yesterday and nothing happened - and you know how quickly we can become inured to predictions that don't come true. But as I was waiting for my vehicle to come out of the shop this afternoon I looked up and saw quite a threatening sky. There were a few sporadic flashes of lightning and it rained briefly but then nothing further.

However, as I left town I noticed that wipers on some of the approaching cars were still going furiously, even though it was only dripping a little. I found a place to pull over and took some shots of the ominous-looking sky. Within a few minutes I found out why those wipers were going fast as I came into the heavy, lashing rain, accompanied by frequent lightning flashes. And even though it was 3:00 in the afternoon, it felt like 9:00 in the evening. I'm glad I wasn't caught out in the open.

(18-55mm  f11  1/30 sec  ISO200)

(70-200mm  f11  1/400 sec  ISO200)

(70-200mm  f5.6  1/400 sec  ISO800)

taken through the windshield (I was stopped)

(Day 106) A hard rain's gonna fall

Well it is the season after all. As the saying goes : "April showers bring May flowers" although we're already getting the flowers, and today some rain. I suppose in some more temperate regions the saying might be "February showers bring March flowers", but it just doesn't have that same ring to it.

(70-200mm  f5  1/400 sec  ISO800)