Sunday, July 06, 2008

After The Rain, Before The Storm

It has been a rainy summer so far, the kind of summer that long time Floridians call, "normal". We expect summer days to start off sunny and humid, building to hot and humid by noon, with a climax of thunderstorms in the after noon.


The weather here has been following the script perfectly with no need from a prompter in the wings. Everyday, my little Weatherbug software says the same thing for the next 3 days ... 50% chance of thunderstorms.

Mostly this "normal" weather is very welcome after a dry spring, although it does make going topless a challenge and so the JEEP top has stayed up. I do miss the wind in my face, but I missed the rain even more in the first 5 months of this year, so bring it on.


Here's something more precious than oil.

The pond is still empty, but moist. Filling it will take rains of longer duration than these short afternoon storms.


Shake it off dude!

After the rain, the kite was up in the sentinel tree across the road from PFHQ and again, I used the mailbox as my tripod to steady this maxed out telephoto shot. You may remember last year when I posted pics of kites doing the horizontal bop in this very same tree.


A quick shake and he's majestic again.

Perhaps a new version of the lovely Frances will drop by this year and fill my pond to overflowing.

Which reminds me, it's time to open the Hurricane/Bird Flu/Alien Invasion/Genetic Engineering Gone Bad With Raptors Loose In My Backyard Emergency Box and check the food and medical supplies for this hurricane season.

Perhaps we will all take a look inside the box via blog post this week. Then you can give me your opinions on what should be in there.

Perhaps it will stimulate YOU to be responsible and create an emergency box of your own.

(LOL, of course you have already made preparations for possible emergencies ...)

Right?

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well, Bertha is out there, maybe she'll be your Frances.

Rain would be nice. And a cold front. It's so hot down here.

This is the MIssissippi Kite, right? Gorgeous!

SwampAngel65 said...

Is that a Mississippi Kite? If so, I wonder if they come this far south? Seems like that may be the answer to one of my mystery birds.

Rain, rain, rain...I love it and from the sounds outside, I think we may be getting some soon!

Dani said...

We've always kept our emergency supplies stocked. It's a comfort thing for me knowing that if something happens we can get through it and be okay.

amarkonmywall said...

I'm all about emergency preparedness. It goes hand-in-hand with hiding money under the mattress.

Before leaving for DC, I needed a takealong book and I just grabbed from my shelf. I ended up with a book I bought 19 years ago (the sales receipt was still in the book): The Road from Coorain. It's by Jill Ker Conway and is the story of her growing up in the Australian outback with the most amazing descriptions of sheep farming, vast empty spaces and drought. The second half of the book is a bit more pedantic but the first half alone is an exceptional read, both for the imagery and the gifted writing.

A long way of saying that your droplet photo is so evocative. I spend some moments every day wondering about my Florida space and how it is faring through this season. Airfares as well as the part of me reluctant to burn yet more fuel keep me from checking.

Anonymous said...

Mississippi Kites AND Swallowtail kites!
I'm ready to move now.
One question though-do you think I could grow mango trees in your area? That would definitely seal the deal.

Smilin-buddha said...

I am hoping for a quiet season> I have no interest in a few weeks with no power.

MinorcanMeteorolgist said...

We need to keep an eye on Bertha...We're expecting it to curve out to sea, but it may "miss the train" and keep heading west...Possibly toward Florida...We will see within the next 4 or 5 days.

Eva Matthews said...

This reminds me that I should really get on the hurricane/emergency supply thing. This is my second summer living in South Florida and I fear this year will bring a little more excitement my way. I look forward to seeing your list...and realizing what I'm forgetting.

Anonymous said...

I think we have a Kite that passes through here in the spring. It's hard to really get a good look at him. Hope your pond fills up with out to bad of weather. Well I officially declared it summer last Wed. Top,doors came off and did some repairs and modifications to the little bikini top. Put the back cover on, ready for the hot spread. Bro J

  said...

FC, what about Ceane?

R.Powers said...

Mist,
Yes, it is.
Welcome to Pure Florida. I know Frances was hard on some folks,but she dropped 16 inches of rain here and my pond quadrupled in size.

Swampangel,
Yes, and I don't know how far south they go. Wish I could tell ya'.

Dani,
It seems like such a common sense idea ... self reliance during an emergency, but it's easy to put off.
Mine needs some tweaking.

Vicki,
The book sounds interesting. The drops are hanging from tiny beginning flower buds on a sabal palm.

Myamuh,
You must be the last one.
Welcome to Pure Florida!
I'm afraid that even though the Lowes in Gainesville sells mangos and starfruit, they are doomed by our winters up here.
You could do the big pot, move em inside thing, but I can't see them lasting too long outside.

SmilinB,
I understand. Maybe just some tropical rains without the devastation?
We can always hope.
Hey, I have a new corn snake named Stewie.

HT,
She has an ominous name.

Eva,
Welcome to Pure Florida!
I opened our box today and while it's heavy on basic staples, it could use some variety.

Bro J,
Sounds good. I don't have any type of garage or carport so I have to be careful about popping my top!

R.Powers said...

Lesle,
She's fine! Spends her time chasing the two koi we added to the pond and trying to swim up the waterfall!

Anonymous said...

Been there, done that! I've gotten caught by some 2-3am unexpected thunder storms. Soggy riding for a few days after. I'm sure I'll catch some while on the road still. But, that bikini top and the tonno cover do a good job at keeping fairly dry. Spraying the seats with water proffing helps. I learned that a little late.
Bro J

Rurality said...

Uh oh... you do realize that you are beginning to... encourage people to move to Florida! Eek! LOL.

Anonymous said...

Rain. Ah, yes, I remember rain. That's when liquid water falls from the sky, right? We got a little under one inch of that stuff in June. None so far in July, although there was a very impressive thunderstorm visible from our deck last night. Unfortunately, it was about 20 miles away.

Smilin-buddha said...

Cornsnakes are great I have a pair of Okeetees. Great little snakes after messing around with the 8 footers.

threecollie said...

Lovely to hear that you are getting some much needed rain. Too bad the potential for emergency comes along with that for precipitation. Hope the pond is soon brimming!

R.Powers said...

Bro J,
I haven't really soaked mine, but that's partly due to some creative parking.

Rurality,
Dang it! What do I do now ... lie about it?
Conundrum city!
:)

Mark,
Poured here this afternoon as per the script.

Smilin B,
He's very tame, wild caught when about pencil size, the family who raised him gave him to me as a classroom mascot.

3C,
Tis the season ...

Anonymous said...

Hey Floridacracker awesome bird it was raining at are place today. No rainbow though maybe mother nature likes you more. I don't know if my Mom's seen this post but she's a real birder. I would show her but I don't want to wake her up.

R.Powers said...

Hi Starflower!!
Welcome to Pure Florida! No, don't wake up your hardworking Mom. She needs her rest.
She really is a serious birder isn't she?
Pretty cool Mom you have there kiddo. Glady you thought my Kite was awesome!

Joe said...

Too funny! I posted a rainbow blog myself last weekend in the Keys:

http://joec66.blogspot.com/2008/07/rainbow-over-big-pine-key.html