Rainy and cool
It's been rainy and "cool" these last few days. The type of storm is a bit unusual for this time of year: it glided in slowly and has stayed like a welcome houseguest, dropping steady rain or sprinkles at any hour of the day. Temps get into the low 80s. A nice change from the triple digits.
Usual August weather calls for the monsoons (yep, that's what they call them): the day starts out hot and clear, then the heat from the earth causes clouds to blossom spontaneously across the sky. You should see the time-lapse satellite feeds on TV: the clouds aren't there, then suddenly they are. On the ground, we see late-afternoon darkness surging up from the south, preceded by fitful warm winds that increase steadily until the thunderstorm is upon us; jets of water pummel the ground for five, maybe ten minutes, and then it's gone sooner than it came.
My annual bed is finally looking halfway good, now that the verbena and vinca have decided to settle in and bloom. (The snapdragons have yet to be convinced.) I was out this morning taking pictures when the battery on the camera ran out. It's got auto-focus, so it depletes the battery rather fast. $14 a pop, too. I'd focus manually, but what looks focused to me and what looks focused to the camera seem to be two different things.
Usual August weather calls for the monsoons (yep, that's what they call them): the day starts out hot and clear, then the heat from the earth causes clouds to blossom spontaneously across the sky. You should see the time-lapse satellite feeds on TV: the clouds aren't there, then suddenly they are. On the ground, we see late-afternoon darkness surging up from the south, preceded by fitful warm winds that increase steadily until the thunderstorm is upon us; jets of water pummel the ground for five, maybe ten minutes, and then it's gone sooner than it came.
My annual bed is finally looking halfway good, now that the verbena and vinca have decided to settle in and bloom. (The snapdragons have yet to be convinced.) I was out this morning taking pictures when the battery on the camera ran out. It's got auto-focus, so it depletes the battery rather fast. $14 a pop, too. I'd focus manually, but what looks focused to me and what looks focused to the camera seem to be two different things.