A Storm Rolls In & Out

I love an early evening storm...it was especially nice yesterday as I sat rocking and looking out over the mountains relaxing after my long day's travel.  Many people can smell the rain coming, sometimes I can, but I can feel it in the air before I can smell it...I was excited when I got that feeling, and as soon as I smelled it I know I'd be in for a treat...then I could hear the thunder rolling in the distance...a perfect way to end the day!

The rain was just beginning to move over the mountains (heading NE)...

...it poured for a bit, obscuring the view completely, leaving only a grey sheet of wetness while the thunder stayed in the distance.  It only rained for about 15 minutes as the clouds continued on their NE path...I enjoyed watching it pass and then the remaining moisture fill the air with new clouds.  I've mentioned before that we are in a temperate rain forest and with all the rain we've had this year, it's been really interesting to see nature working...it rains, the rain clouds move away, then the moisture and days heat create new clouds over the mountain valleys.

As the sun began to shine again, I noticed this leaf that glowed like a flying saucer.  If you look closely, you'll see some faint vertical lines in the photo too...those are rain drops falling from the trees that are catching the sun...pretty cool.

About 30 minutes after the rain passed, the sky was clearing with little clouds developing...fascinating and peaceful to watch.

Yesterday I mentioned my hydrangea were blooming...

...as were the lily's, so I thought I'd share. 

Nothing like having some time away, but today was back to work.  We spent much of today chopping (Johny) and stacking (me) wood...we started with this...

(note the shelves farthest to the left, those are the ones I worked on filling today)...

...and ended with this (see the round pieces on the ground?...more about them below)...

 ...not bad for a days work!

The round pieces are going to be stepping stones to the stairs that lead down to the wood racks and basement (he stumps on the gravel will be sliced for more stepping stones, it will be really cool)...another fun project!

Thanks for reading my blog, you are the best f/f/r/s/f's, see you tomorrow,
Lise