Posts Tagged ‘rainbow’
Thunder Barking
After a delightful afternoon of hosting visits from family and friends yesterday, we were finally blessed with a mild-mannered summer thunderstorm. It has been so long since we experienced thunder, Delilah seemed to have forgotten what it was. She was in a tizzy of nervously running at the door and barking major alarms. We went for the Thundershirt, but it wasn’t enough. Cyndie provided a dose of Benadryl, but when that proved insufficient, she administered an anti-anxiety drug.
We took Delilah out for a walk as the back side of the storm sprinkled down a last few leftover drops. An opening in the clouds allowed a splash from the setting sun to illuminate a spectacular full rainbow which doubled on one end. We have a wonderful vantage point for sunset-timed rainbows. I need to remember the value of getting outside to survey for these marvelous sights whenever the conditions offer the potential.
I took a shaky cell phone photo after we put some hay out for the horses and closed them into the paddocks for the night. They seemed to be enjoying the shower. It was enough to get them wet, but not enough to create too much mud.
After darkness settled in and most of the thunder had moved on, I was just about to comment to Cyndie about how pleasant it was that Delilah had finally settled down and we were enjoying a peaceful… Oops, one more thunder, Delilah up and barking. Oh well.
Later, as we were wrapping up our evening activity, I walked toward the kitchen, where Cyndie was involved in some creative endeavor, and I spotted our lovely canine sprawled on the floor in a slumber that presented every indication of the drugs having finally kicked in. Success, at last.
Weather predictions are for more thunderstorms today, so either I proactively serve up some calming drugs in her breakfast, or I hang my hopes on her having quickly grown used to the booming after surviving last night’s reintroduction to thunder. The scenario is made a bit more complicated by the fact I need to be away from home for a few hours at the dentist today. Hopefully the weather will hold until I return.
———————————————————
For those of you following closely enough to care… the wheelbarrow tire is holding air adequately after just the two patches! YES! <pumping fist>
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Changes Afoot
This week I am back at the day-job to cover for my assistant while she is on vacation. By coincidence, this week also happens to be when Cyndie starts a new job in education administration. In fact, today is her first official day in her new role as Chief Academic Officer of the Anoka/Hennepin School district, the largest district in the state of Minnesota.
How do these things happen? I don’t know. It’s not like we planned for her to land such a demanding position so far from our home. The opportunity arose and Cyndie peeked in at it, getting quickly swept in for another shot at solving the world’s problems through helping improve another public school system. Can it be done? I hope so, because she always gives her all in trying.
What does that mean for our plans at Wintervale? Probably that our efforts to launch a self-sustaining education and retreat center here will be a bit more drawn out. For me, it means that I will need to do a better job of again reducing the need to travel across the cities to my old day-job gig. My primary responsibilities will shift to managing things at home. Heaven forbid, I might be forced to finally do the grocery shopping and dinner prep for the two of us.
I have already started my unintended plumbing apprenticeship. I’m daily growing more comfortable with animal care: horses, dog, and cat. I’m getting the hang of using tractors and gas engines. Most importantly, I’m making connections with the farmer neighbors and local business owners who will become the new co-workers I will be interacting with to accomplish whatever needs attention on any given day around here.
We think it is a glorious opportunity for both of us.
Happy first day of July, 2014!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Nice View
One benefit that I have particularly enjoyed since moving to the country, is the improved view of the sky, and being able to see weather events. The shot below is from last Sunday evening, when we were returning home from Father’s Day festivities at Cyndie’s parent’s home in Edina, MN.
I wonder what thoughts went through the minds of the first humans to witness a rainbow.
This one changed a lot during the time we were able to observe it. There was a period where the colors became the most vivid and well-defined as I can recall ever seeing. Since we were in a moving vehicle, I had to wait until our car had turned just enough to allow me to capture a shot out of the side window. The windshield was so speckled from impacts with insects that I chose not to shoot through it during the time when the rainbow was directly in front of us.
Relative Something 