Friday, June 25, 2010

After the Storm


We have been getting some pretty amazing storms around here lately. I love storms. I'm not sure why, exactly. When I was a kid I was terrified of storms. Every time there was a storm I thought it meant a tornado was coming.

Once, when I was maybe 10 or so, I looked out my window during some heavy winds and saw a tornado. It wasn't moving fast. Actually, it wasn't moving much at all. The wind just sort of made it sway back and forth. I went running to my parents, scared to death of the tornado outside. They came to look out my window and told me to put my glasses on. It was just a tree, swaying in the wind.

I'm not sure when my phobia changed into a love affair. I'm not afraid of tornadoes, I want to see one. Well, as long as it doesn't hurt anyone or destroy anything. I can sit and watch the lightning all night. When the winds pick up and the rain starts falling buckets from the sky, I get excited.

This last storm was especially exciting. I drove through most of it. After the rain stopped, and the thunder and lightning were only a thought in the distance, the entire world changed. A warm orange glow covered everything. I wish I could come up with a clever analogy to describe it, but there is nothing else like the silence and atmosphere that permeated the air around us.

Of course, this was a perfect time to go outside and snap some pictures. This one is my favorite. The neighbors weren't home, so they didn't notice me taking pictures of the swing in their front yard. At least I think they weren't home.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hurricanes are fun too.

Country Girl said...

Saw this post come up on 'More from BlogHer'. This is beautiful. Storms are exciting for me, too but the big ones scare me. You're right about the calm and the color afterward. It's mesmerizing.