Summer Fun

We’ve had rain for the past 14 days.  The rain wasn’t constant and instead we had multiple thunderstorms and showers throughout the day.  I had to get out of the house and capture some images of the rainy weather.

I do love rain and storms. Even as a kid I was fascinated by the sound of the thunder echoing and rolling across the sky.  I loved to sit and watch the wall of clouds move across the sky and the forks of lightening flashing down from the sky.

My mother used to tell me that the thunder was God bowling in heaven.  I never bought it. I wanted to learn more about what caused that sound, why it was so loud and what made it happen. As a kid I liked to take things apart to learn what made them tick.  We had a riding lawn mower that quit working.  One afternoon, my friend, Scott and I took it totally apart.  Really, we unscrewed all the parts and spread it out in my parents’ garage.  I wanted to do the same for the Thunder and lightening.  Why was there this giant electrical charge arcing across the sky?   What made that enormous sound and why did it roll across the sky like it did.  Eventually, I learned enough physics and science to understand the mechanics, but it still fills me with awe when I see the flash and hear that giant clap of thunder.

Hotel Montana

Tree trunk covered in staghorn ferns.

View from the memorial at the Hotel Montana

One of the more somber things that we did in our visit to Haiti was to stop by the site of the former Hotel Montana.  The hotel is gone now, swept away in the earthquake that claimed so many lives on January 12, 2010.   Tom, one of the men who was part of our group, asked to stop by there to pay his respects to a colleague and friend who was killed when the hotel collapsed in the earthquake.  On the day of the quake, 220,000 people in Port au Prince died and over 300,000 were injured.

The memorial was simple and solemn. The area is fenced off and stands on the brink of the hill overlooking a beautiful valley.  At one side stands a tower with a bell.  Next to it is a tree trunk covered in ferns and other plants.  These ferns are air plants which means that they don’t need soil to grow.  They live off of the moisture and nutrients they take in through the air.  I thought it was a fitting plant for the memorial. They keep watch over the site and continue to grow so long as there is air and moisture. Off to another side is a shaded area with benches so that you can sit and think about the loss of life that happened that day. During our visit there I didn’t see any other memorials to the victims of the earthquake (thought that doesn’t mean there weren’t any, we just didn’t see any).

Tom told us that his friend was there on business and it was by happenstance that he made the trip.  Another colleague was supposed to be on that project, but couldn’t make it, so Tom’s friend went instead.  For me, it really drove home how fragile life is and how quickly it can end.  Though, I’m guessing that Tom’s friend was happy being there and helping the people of Haiti.

Dogwood Blossom

We’ve had a wonderful spring so far. Plenty of soft rains (and occasional monsoon downpours),  gentle breezes (with a slight chance of tornadoes), and lots of sunshine (frequently covered up by thick clouds).  All-in-all a typical Ohio springtime.  The best part of the spring is the wealth of flowering trees, bushes, shrubs, and bulbs.

This year our dogwood tree came out with tons of blooms.  When we planted it, I chose a red flower instead of the traditional white flower, just to have some different color on that side of the house.  Right now, we have lot of pinks blossoms blowing in the breeze. The tree itself is not very big and grows slowly, so I’m hoping for years of blossoms each spring.

This image was a fun one to capture.  The breeze was blowing and the flower kept waving in the breeze.  I’m trying out my new macro lens to get closer and more detail.