Summer Rain

An evening summer rain. Large, quick drops, splash through leaves and drum on the roof. The scent of heat and earth.  A rain dance.  As a child I loved to dance in a warm summer rain, as I got older I shared this joy with my niece.
The growl of thunder.

Summer Heat

This summer has been hot with little precipitation.  My neighbor' s on reservoir water have had to conserve.  We have had 18 days of over 100 degree temperature.  The monsoonal rains have mostly hit to the south of us.  Bushes have already changed color.

Sunday Evening

Across a field of blue sky, a ethereal cloud dances, is its partner the breeze or the limestone mountain cliff above my home?  The canyon floor is in shadow, the day cooling.  The canyon breeze teases my hair, then stills. I am reminded of the afternoon heat.  Its taste and scent evident in the still.

Mollie and I walk the dry, dirt road to the cement bridge over the river.  The river rushes under us, an increase of water has been released from the dam to assist the farmers in irrigating their crops.

Flashes of color capture our attention.  Scarlet tanagers fly from willow to cottonwood trees.  A lovely yellow tiger-stripe swallow tail butterfly feeds on the pink star flowers of milkweeds.  Then a surprise, an orange and black butterfly - a monarch or viceroy.  Just a fleeting glimpse.  I recall seeing them in my childhood, but they have been rare in recent years.

The hard dirt road has lead us back home to mom's  color filled garden and cool green grass.  Mollie ends her walk with a good, back scratching roll in the grass.

A lovely Sunday evening, and wishes for the same for you!

Summer

At the Cabin on South Fork

We spend most of our summer holidays at our cabin on the south fork of the Ogden river.  We have since childhood, when it was at my grandparents cabin.  My parents purchased our cabin in the same camp, when I was in my teens.

And, yes in Utah July 24th is a holiday.  It is Pioneer Day, when the people of Utah celebrate our statehood.

At our cabin, we tube on the river, talk with friends and family, play games, and just enjoy the summer.

On the South Fork

Floating the river

Stretched on an inner tube

Splash, gasp, chill ... rapids.

Summer Days & Thunderstorms

Long, hot summer day

then clouds - cumulonimbus

thunder, rain, downpour.