Light Show

 

While Glenda and I were enjoying a truly brilliant light show Thursday evening, Dave was quietly snapping photos of the sky.  He captured some great shots and we didn't even know he was doing it.  Luckily he shared them with us so I can share them with you.  The lightening was lighting up the sky brilliantly for most of the evening but it was far enough away that we never heard any thunder and we could safely sit there and enjoy the show. (By the way, those two short light streaks in the upper right are a plane passing overhead.)

This one looks like a perfect Halloween moon shot.  

Dave got a little "arty" with this shot of his champagne glass ready to swallow up the moon.  

Thanks Dave for sharing these great photos.

Puffy Clouds

 

I noticed some big puffy clouds building up in the east behind Camelback Mountain one evening and I had my fingers crossed that we might get some rain later on.  However, no rain showed up.  

Usually a build up of clouds in the east is a good sign of rain on the horizon but lately we've been seeing the clouds but the rains seem to pass us by.  I guess that's just another sign of our changing weather patterns.  

A Walk in the Rain

 

I was doing a little happy dance on Monday morning when I woke up to very heavy, gray skies.  By 6:30 AM it was pouring down rain.  What a wonderful surprise.  And a surprise it certainly was, I had checked my weather app Sunday evening and saw that predictions were for more extreme heat.  

The minute the rain slowed to just a sprinkle, I went out for a short walk.  I wanted to take full advantage of the 79 degree (26C) temperature.  

By the time I got back home, my hair and clothes were wet.  It felt so good!

Lots of Wind, No Rain

 

We've had lots of wind and clouds lately but still no measurable rain.  Looking at my weather app on my phone is getting kind of depressing.  It's stuck in "extreme heat" mode with the occasional dust storm.  I'm hoping the heat spell breaks sometime soon!

It Was a Dark and Stormy Night

 

We've had a lot of cloudy nights lately and some of them bring lightening displays but unfortunately, very little rain.  The top photo was take a week ago when there was lots of lightening flashing around under the clouds.

The photo to the left I took last Thursday evening when I was heading home from a friend's house.  I almost deleted it but, after looking at it a while I decided I liked it.  It seems to express that classic saying "it was a dark and stormy night" perfectly.  

Boxes and Dust

 

I was doing some dusting last weekend when it occurred to me that I've accumulated a collection of boxes in a variety of shapes and sizes.  I don't actually collect boxes but it seems that I have purchased a few that have caught my eye.  The ones in the photo above are the oldest.  I bought both of these on my very first trip to Europe back in 1985.  Both were purchased in Germany.

These two were purchased closer to home and approximately 12 to 15 years ago.  They are both made of glass.  The black one I got at a street craft festival and the one with the shell embedded in it I found at a gem and mineral show in Tucson.

This last one was purchased in Costa Rica in 2007.  It's made of wood native to that country.  

Wednesday evening I got one of those noisy, emergency notices on my phone because of a dust storm.  When I checked outside, it was calm but I did see some clouds in the east.  It took 30 minutes for the storm to reach my place and once it did, the wind rattled the windows and blew things around for another 30 minutes.  The storm brought some rain too but not enough to make a difference.

All that dust blowing around will make it necessary to do some more dusting.  In the desert, there is no escaping the dust.

Making An Effort

 

It is not a good time year for flowers to be blooming in Phoenix but this canna lily in front of my complex is making the effort.  You can see that it is getting a little "crispy" around the edges.

It was 115 degrees (46C) last Sunday and the high has been hovering around 110 (43C) all week long.

It's the time of year we tend to stay inside.

Clouds at Sunset

 

I was hoping for a brilliant sunset this last weekend since we had such cloudy and rainy days.  

Since the clouds were breaking up a bit Saturday evening, I thought that might be the best chance.  However, this was the best we got.  

It was pretty enough.  Just not the explosion of red I was hoping for.

 I actually went out at 6:00 PM to see how the clouds were shaping up as the sun was starting to slip downward.  You can see why I was hopeful.  There were lots of clouds that could reflect the sun as it sunk below the horizon.  But in the end the reflections only happened low in the sky.

Dark Clouds, No Rain

 

On Sunday evening I noticed that some dark skies were starting to form over the mountains to the north of me.

I zoomed in closer and saw some very heavy clouds that looked like they might open up at any moment.

The skies to the northeast over the complex were getting very dark.

All of this dramatic build up and not one drop of rain fell.  I heard that areas north of Phoenix got some rain but no such luck for us city folks.

My weather app says we have a stronger chance for some rain later this week.  My fingers are crossed!

Posted this AM, the rains came Monday night and it was a good solid rain!  Makes me happy.  

Theme Day: Sky

 

Clouds make a sky so much more interesting so when I planned for this post, I searched my archives until I found a sky photo with just the right amount of clouds to make it interesting.  Living in the desert, I'm much more likely to see nothing but a large expanse of blue.  

The theme for June 1st is "Sky" for us City Daily Photo Bloggers.  To see other sky shots, click here.

A Big Announcement & Rain

 

My good friends Julie and Dave hosted a patron's event at their house late Monday afternoon. The event was to announce the new Phoenix Symphony Music Director.  In the top photo we see Peter Kjome, the Symphony CEO and to the left is Paolo Bortolameolli, the new music director. He is a Chilean-Italian conductor who has performed all over the world and will start leading the Phoenix Symphony for the 2026-27 season.

After the announcement, a quartet of symphony musicians started playing some beautiful selections of music for the attendees to enjoy.  

After about 3 minutes of great music, the skies opened up and the rain started pummeling everyone on the patio.  We made a very speedy retreat getting the musicians out of the rain followed by the trays of food that had been placed out for all to enjoy.

The whole change from patio to living room took less than 8 minutes and that beautiful music now filled the house.  After the music ended, everyone retreated to the kitchen to enjoy all the great food that had been rescued from the rain.  It's a good thing that Julie and Dave have a big kitchen.  The event was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone in spite of the unusual weather disruption.

Clouds Over Camelback Mountain

 

I noticed all the clouds when I left the house to go to a store so I took this road because I knew it would give me a good view the clouds hovering over the mountains.  We had some wind and rain early last week and as the storm was clearing, we saw great swaths of clouds hanging low in the skies.  I always enjoy a good view of clouds over the mountains.

Clouds Over the Mountain

 

We had some rain over this past weekend.  Not as much as predicted but enough to water the thirsty desert.  I love when the rain starts moving away and patches of blue sky appear with big puffy clouds to complement the blue.  I was headed east on this street when the sight of those clouds over Camelback Mountain was too pretty not to capture.  According to the weather experts, we are supposed get some more rain today and tomorrow.  We'll see how accurate they are in the next few days.

Back to Blue Skies

 Our blue skies have returned here in Phoenix after several days of clouds, rain and wind.  In fact, on Monday we had a sort of micro-burst that caused some tree damage in certain parts of town.  I didn't notice any damage near where I live but I have heard that in Tempe, two buildings lost their roofs and many trees were uprooted.

The early morning temps are now in the low 60's and just yesterday I heard then saw a huge flock of Canadian Geese flying over the golf course next door.  

Fall is certainly in the air here in the desert southwest.

Sunshine and Rain

 

I snapped these two photos yesterday morning when the rain was coming down while the sun was shining.  It was just the remains of that crazy storm that happened on Friday. The top photo is looking northwest where the rain was coming from. The second photo is looking southwest where the skies were clearing.  Both photos were taken minutes apart. Rain and sunshine at the same time happens quite often in the desert.

The rain only lasted a few minutes and then things dried up until late in the day when I poured down rain again.

I copied this photo from the AZ Central online news.  This is what it was like on Friday when I was driving home.  Desert cities aren't built for rainy weather.  When we have storms like Friday's, the water accumulates quickly and floods streets and yards and causes flash floods in normally dry washes.  

I heard that flights were grounded in Phoenix from 11:00 AM to almost 7:00 PM.  It must have been chaos at the airport.  Friday was one crazy day in Phoenix.

The Weather Outside is Frightful

 

It had just stopped raining when I left my house to go to Scottsdale.  While I was in Scottsdale it started coming down like crazy.  

When I got back to my car, the street where I parked was flooded and I wasn't sure how I was going to get into driver's side without wading through a river of rushing water.  I finally got in the back seat, slid across to other side, got out where the water wasn't so deep on the street side and then got into the driver's seat.  

However, getting into the driver's seat wasn't the end of the trials.  It was raining so hard it was hard to see anything and the streets were flooded in all directions.  It was very slow going but I made it home unscathed.  Then I got completely drenched in the short distance from my car to the covered walkway.  It was kind of like someone threw a bucket of water on me.

I haven't seen a storm like this in this area in a very long time.  It warranted four emergency alerts like this one.

Storm in the Desert

 

On Monday evening, a storm passed through the Phoenix area with some heavy winds and wonderful rain.  All those clouds roiling around help create a great sunset.

Looking in the opposite direction I saw a rainbow forming.  I made my way outside to see if I could capture it.  It was a great way to end the day.  

Skywatching

 

Keeping an eye on the sky at sunset is entertaining when there are a few clouds overhead.  On Thursday evening I saw some clouds gathering and wondered if there might be some good light.  This one was about as intense as it got that evening.  Not a brilliant sunset but a nice one nonetheless. 

I liked this little wispy cloud with just a touch of pink in it so I snapped a photo.  I didn't know I captured a plane passing overhead at the same time.  

Then after capturing the pretty sun-tinged clouds, it rained!  Not a rain that would register with any of you who see rain more often.  Frankly, it was just a few drops here and there.  Still, it was a totally unexpected event.  

My Mountain Views

 

I've featured photos of the mountains to the north of where I live many times before.  I feel lucky to have some very nice views surrounding my home.  Yesterday, the air was so clear it made the mountains looks so crisp.  I couldn't resist a photo.

Sometimes I'll snap a photo because the play of light contrasts so well with the clouds that are rolling by.

On another occasion, I snapped a photo because the sunset was turning the sky and mountains a shade of dusky pink.

And on this occasion, I took the shot to capture those puffy clouds that were hovering over the top of the rugged peaks.  There seems to be and endless supply of appealing views no matter the weather or time of year. I'm lucky I get to see it all.

It's Been Raining

 

We've had some rain the last three or four days.  Not a deluge but enough to maybe encourage the spring wildflowers to pop up. At least I'm hoping so.

We needed it.  It hasn't rained here all winter so things were getting very dry.  I took a drive out to Papago Park to see if I could get some good cloud photos. These were the result.