Aftermath of Hurricane Sally -

They said this would be a busy hurricane year, and it looks like they are correct.

 My thoughts are with the people hit hardest by this latest storm. The damage looks terrible and, as always, recovery will take so long, and so many lives already impacted by living during a pandemic will now be even worse.

As always with natural disasters, we question so much and nobody really has the answers.

"Coastal Alabama and the Florida Panhandle face a daunting recovery Thursday, as ponds of floodwater and chunks of debris surround homes and businesses. Rivers also have spilled over their banks there, and Sally's remnants still threaten more flooding Thursday as they push into Georgia and the Carolinas" 

 . . . . via CNN today

So, although we have nothing going on such as in the atmospheric

 painting above. . . . . . 

. . . . . . here, "in the Carolinas" I'm sitting out in the gazebo, rain constant

 on the roof, pleasant cool at last air, but no wind thankfully, however things

 will get worse later with 100% rain falling steadily for perhaps another 24 hours!

As you can see, our back garden is a disaster. The guy who planned to

aerate and reseed the lawn area, bring in topsoil, bailed on us - he found

 another job.  

Also, we haven't found a landscaper yet who can give us an affordable

 plan to address the water draining from the property behind us, 

which in heavy rains like we're having again, cause substantial back yard 

 flooding for us. This means also the back bed along the fence, although 

cleared of ivy etc., still can't be built back up and new shrubs planted.

The gazebo, with me in it, might just float away by tomorrow!

SOS - send a boat please!

Thoughts of Umbrella Days. . . . . . .

While gazing out the window this morning I was thinking about the sopping wet
 weather we've had this week. Three straight days of rain falling, unusual for this
 area, a slow moving farewell from tropical storm Arthur.
I didn't need my umbrella though as I didn't go out of the house. . . . . except to
slosh around in the soggy garden now and then. All this thinking took me back
 to places in the world where umbrellas played

 a memorable part whilst sightseeing. 

Here are a few that come to mind as I enjoy a sunny morning again.

My photo from that special morning at Monet's garden in Giverny, France.

My art version of the gorgeous Claude Monet paintings reproduced on the umbrellas

 for sale at the gift shop in his gardens.

Handmade umbrellas waiting to dry before decorative painting - Chiang Mai, Thailand 2011

. . . . . . . and me among the painted umbrellas outside the shop.

First morning in Moscow, heavy rain whilst crossing waterlogged Red Square - 2013
Dreary and foreboding - thankfully the following day the sun came out.

The steady rain of 'the wet' season bringing to life the ancient colors of ancient
Hue, Vietnam. 

More of historic Hue, Vietnam in 2011

Rainy day - plenty of umbrellas and plastic rainwear available!
Beautiful colors of very old buildings - hang the red lantern!
Hoi An, Vietnam - 2011. A beautiful place.

Hope your Memorial Day weekend is dry, bright and sunny.
Not going far from home but will probably grill something or other........as that's
what we do, right?

Stay well - be safe.

Let it rain. . . . . . . . .

We're not quite waterlogged yet. . . . . . . . . . but playing

 with the Waterlogue app on the phone is always fun, especially
 on a chilly, rainy February day!

Our weather has changed and rain may fall every day 

for the next week. Glad I didn't put my waterproof booties
 away. . . . . . and the raincoat will certainly come

in handy by the sound of it.

"When it rains look for rainbows, when it's dark looks for stars". . . . . . Oscar Wilde

After the rain comes Spring. . . . . .

The rain came down in buckets last night, thunder crashed directly

 overhead, nonstop lightning illuminated the trees off and on for
several hours.

Earlier in the afternoon the sun was shining and it reached 81F.

Looking through the window upstairs (sorry, there's a screen so photos
 are a bit grainy) I noticed how the trees were extending their beautiful
 buds toward the sunlight.

I was also able to catch this male White-Breasted Nuthatch on a branch.

This is the bird we usually see hopping headfirst down tree trunks which is

apparently a way to see insects that birds climbing up the trunk might miss!

Incredible agility comes from the extra long hind toe claw, nearly twice the

size of the front toe claws - if you look closely you can see it wrapped around

the little twig.  Mated pairs remain together all year defending small territories.
 The female is similar in color but has a grey cap and neck. Together they build
 the nest and have one brood of 5-7 eggs per year. Both parents feed the young.

The sun is brilliant this morning and the garden is radiant with the buds

bursting and fresh leaves unfurling.

Sadly many of the daffodils were flattened in the storm - the ones that

refuse to stand up again I'll be cutting later for a vase. 

"Is the spring coming?" he said. "What is it like?"

    "It is the sun shining on the rain and the rain falling

 on the sunshine". . . . . . 

                                    Frances Hodgson Burnett ~ The Secret Garden