beautiful earth

This was on Saturday afternoon as a small storm blew in.  We loved the fact that everyone on the block was outside on their front lawns with cameras in hand.  Beautiful!

 It was brilliant!

What a fabulous sight!  We love living so near the mouth of the canyon and at the foot of the mountain!  It's always spectacular!

 

Then, on Sunday evening, at about 8:45, Doug heard thunder off in the distance.  A storm was blowing in from the southwest.  I happened to notice the red sky reflecting to the east of us just at the mouth of the canyon.  WOW!

 

I couldn't grab my camera fast enough!  This wall of rocks and trees and mountainside is always breathtaking, especially in the mornings as the sun rises, but after 17 months of living here, this was the first time we've seen the sunset affect the mountain.  It was incredible!

 

The skies were still blue to the east, but the west was as dark as could be with a brilliant orange!

We all gathered outside for the next hour to watch.

 It was pretty amazing.  We could hear our neighbors outside oohing and aahing over the lightning strikes in every direction.

 

Within moments, though, the storm got serious and moved right in on us.  The skies were just as dark and ominous as could be.  There was lightning every few seconds.  The sound of the thunder rumbled up the canyon and you could feel it!  It was incredible!

Then, the rain came and the wind blew and we literally felt the storm blow over our home.  Layne and Julie moved from their back patio to their front porch.  We moved from our front porch to our back patio.  My front porch, right now, is totally saturated.  My Americana quilt ... soaked.  Pillows ... dripping wet.  The "garden" drowning in little rivers that formed as the rain poured off the roof where there is no gutter.  It was the perfect summer storm!  More are expected tomorrow...

And all I can think about is... does my son need a rain slicker?  

Life is good!  So are summer storms!