Does this look like a bird in a high tree? Can you see it?
Getting wet was not very nice, but I just had to show you this.
I like the settings that a stormy day reveals, as it always looks very dramatic. Just as the birds sit the rain out, so too have I learned how to survive on a rainy day. If you ever had a trickle of ice-cold raindrops down your back on the spine, then you will know what I am talking about. But yes, endurance is a big friend of mine. A sign popped up on my PC, "Thunderstorm is in effect", and believe it or not I look forward to these signs.
To befuddle you a bit more, this below is the top part of the tree, and that's when I saw that weird spot just below the top of the tree. It is a very old Fir tree, and its trunk at the bottom is as wide as a small car.
Right. I waited until one of those white spots in the clouds moved up behind the bird, and that's what the bird looked like on my zoom. Almost a silhouette, so I took a few shots of it.
It is a Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus).
Now for something else to show you back home.
We really love Aloes. They show us a different beauty through each of the seasons. It is supposed to be late Autumn here, but the early Winter rains arrived sooner this year. We are in a Winter rainfall area, and as usual the heavy rains have created, not only much damage but also flooding in many areas. Roofs blown off, old trees uprooted, and all of such.
This is the aloe below that I got the lovely raindrops on. The time to plant it out will soon arrive. Unfortunately, our garden is too small as these aloes grow very big in size. So, we will have to search for someone with a big garden that wants it. When we bought this aloe at a nursery's bargain box, it was tiny, but it turned out to love this pot, and you can see that it already has grown considerably in size.
Finally, just two quick shots of the mountain range below.
The storms always stir something in my soul, as I see them as cleansing periods, washing the earth and cleaning the air. Someone once said that when it rains one should dance in the rain, but with my gammy leg I can only hobble in the rain :) Another thing about the rain is that the apple farmers love it, as the heavier the rain, the better the apple trees do their winter sleep, and this results in not only bigger fruit, but also in higher quality when the trees wake up after the winter season.
Such is life.
I hope you enjoyed the pictures and the story.
Photos by Zac Smith. All-Rights-Reserved.
Camera: Canon PowershotSX70HS Bridge camera.
Until next time, cheers!