Monday, July 19, 2010

The Gathering Storm

I'm back from my little break. I didn't intend to totally disappear from the blogging world, but after reading some of your kind comments I thought it may be a good thing for this first weekend of no posts. I'm glad to say I was able to work on a few of my other little projects while I was away, which is exactly what I wanted. But now it's back to nature for me. I've missed it very much.

Today I want to share a little of my experience while I was out in a thunderstorm. The picture above was taken as the storm began to gather. The sky had started to turn a strange color. Everything around me was dark and light at the same time.

Most of the animals were much smarter than me by this time. They were either already gone or looking for shelter. I stayed right out there in the storm with my camera ready to catch something good. It's a rare thing to be able to capture action by just looking at the usually inanimate things around you, but I did it.


And now for an all new episode of Rat TV! I should tell you right up front that there isn't anything too surprising here, but it gives a little better idea of what the weather looked like at the moment I took the picture above. This was just the beginning of the storm. There is a nice flash in the sky showing a good preview of the lightning that was coming.

The sound isn't too good because of the sound of my truck in the background. I keep forgetting to turn that off. I soon had to stop recording though because I finally decided that the animals had the right idea by seeking shelter. It was inside the truck with rolled up windows for me. It was shortly after all of this that the storm began.

Nature Center Magazine - Our Cool Nature Video for this week gives an introduction to poisonous plants. Take a look. You might learn something new.

And I'd like to thank Jamie Dedes of Musing By Moonlight for presenting me with the Pink One Lovely Blog Award. It was a very nice thing to do. Please visit her blog and see what it's all about. I'm sure you'll be a new fan. There are usually rules for any award, but many of you already know that I'm a terrible rule breaker. This award requires that I tell a bit about myself. You can find out plenty by reading through my archives. And I pass it on to all of you who routinely comment here. I'm already your biggest fan.

16 comments:

  1. I'm glad you enjoyed your weekend and welcome back!
    You were able to get some cool footage of the storm. Loved watching the lightening.

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  2. Nice shot of the storm. Looks ominous. I love watching storms though. ;-) Have a great week.

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  3. After a weekend off you even sound more relaxed. Nice video of storm. We've had too many thunder and lightening storms in New England this summer.

    Bill
    www.wildramblings.com

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  4. Good post as always . . . we are missing storms here in the heat of our summer. Congrat's, Ratty, on a good weekend off and on the One Lovely Blog award. Good job!

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  5. great photo as usual ratty! we have had some pretty good thunderstorms here this year. i took a little video of the hail last week. it was crazy!

    have a wonderful day
    hugz!

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  6. OH yeah... I know the east side of the state got worse storms than we did last night. Stay safe... did you hear about those kids who got hit by lightning this past week. Get out of that field, Ratty!

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  7. Looks like you enjoyed your time out... The pic is stunning to say the least... Have a nice day...

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  8. I love to watch approaching storms and have since childhood. As Shark says, take care so you're not hit by lightning.

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  9. When I am out west where it is really flat, you watch storms thinking you are going to get pounded and they slide right past.Have been in some big ones, had 2 tents demolished one summer, so know their power.

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  10. Glad you enjoyed your down time from the blog. I love to watch the sky when there's a storm approaching. It's scary sometimes watching those clouds move and wondering just exactly they are about to bring your way.

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  11. Storm is frightening, especially out in the jungle.

    Take care. There are falling twigs, or even trees, and lightning.

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  12. Storms are for hiding, not pulling out the camera! You humans are crazy.

    P.S. My human is the same way. She thinks the energy you feel around thunderstorms is "cool" and she enjoys lightning storms. I think it's a good time to hide under the bed.

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  13. Welcome home Ratty. Living in Scotland I am a bonefide expert on thunder storms and yes under the bed is the best place to hide.

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  14. When we get storms in Cyprus, the lightening is incredible. It was great to see another brewing in the world :)

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  15. Ratty- I've never gotten a shot of lightning. Very cool, but I think you were still in a dangerous place.

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