out in the storm

A few days ago, as the sky darkened and the breezes kicked up I put a leash on Beulah and we headed out into the weather. I love walking around when rain threatens and more sensible people head indoors. Familiar sights look strange and new and you appreciate everyday beauty through a new set of eyes.


As we entered the nearby park the friendly stream I have started letting Beulah play in reflected the surrounding trees and weeds.


The dry grass rustled in the wind, anticipating the rain. Although we had quite of precipitation in the late spring, it has been so hot and humid that the landscape is already beginning to dry out. What was emerald green just a few weeks ago is now brown and brittle. This grass here reminded me of childhood drives past wheat fields in Rottingen.


Train cars idled, providing a color contrast with their surroundings and contributing to the quiet, empty feeling of the evening.


Newly grown Queen Anne's Lace looked so delicate as thunder began to growl and lightening flashed in the distance. Odd how the most tenacious weeds would produce such fragile-seeming blooms.


One would think Beulah would have been frightened or skittish, but that was not the case. After some initial starts when the thunder thudded around us she was happy as a clam to be able to run free in the wind for a moment or two.

We headed home just as the lightening started getting too close for comfort. For the rest of the evening I think both the pup and I felt a little bit of that wild storm-fast-approaching excitement as we watched the rest through a window. Despite all the anticipation, in the end there was very little rain. Just a sprinkling really, not even enough to wet the road completely. The first dry thunder storm of the summer.