Colorful & Cool !

A colorful start to a new week.
View from my back yarn this morning at 6 a.m.

And, just look at the 7-Day Forecast --
didn't think I would ever be so happy to see temps in the 90's !

Mother Nature, passing through . . . . .

A couple of nights ago, I was standing in my driveway trying to get a photo of the sunset -- it was one of those 'technicolor' sunsets we are blessed with here in Oklahoma. All soaring clouds, every shade of gold & orange you can imagine; then I happened to glance over my shoulder to the North and saw this - - - - -

Very angry clouds -- but also amazing in their own way. Wish my camera could have captured the play of colors as these clouds boiled and rolled over us. They were in a hurry and only dropped a little rain on us -- they were saving the 'big show' of 5 tornadoes for destinations further south. Lots of damage to property but no serious injuries - and, for that we are thankful. According to our local weather-wizards, we have a few more days of unsettled weather and then we'll have some hot sunny spring weather. I know I'm looking forward to it.

White & Cold -- but, not snow

It's very cold - - - temp guage in my PT Cruiser. A little blurry picture; but, it reads: 19 degrees and that was midmorning yesterday. At the time, we had no idea that temp reading was a real heat wave. Last night it got down to 8 degrees !

And, there's white stuff everywhere - - - here's the view from our front door.


The streets around our neighborhood - - -



Some of us were unlucky on the drive to/from work - - - which just proves that the winter weather can get to even most experienced drivers every once in awhile.

And, one of my favorite things about winter -- feeding/watching the birds. This little fellow was just one of many visitors of the feathered variety.

Notes:

The white 'stuff' is sleet. Yep - that's almost 2 inches of sleet not snow on top of a quarter of an inch of ice. Driving was an adventure.

Bird picture was taken through our office conference room windows -- the only way I could snap a shot of that beautiful Cardinal.

Thankful - Part 1::

I'm taking a cue from many other bloggers this week -- taking some time to post things I'm truly thankful for ::

• the way my crepe myrtles are changing colors from the bottom up
• crisp cool mornings and warm sweaters
• the sound of geese calling to each other as they fly overhead
• seeing a friendly harvest moon rising in the east
• my favorite season, Autumn -- may it last a few more weeks before the winter winds blow

What are you thankful for ??

Stormy Weather

Yesterday afternoon we had some typical spring weather -- blowing rain, hail, high winds and just for some extra added excitement: 4 small twisters dropped in for a quick visit.

The twisters stayed north of our little house - skipping across the west side of OKC. Rain-filled roses and water-logged begonias were the only damage we could find at our place --

But, many north and west of us were much less fortunate.

Damage to the park at NW 50th & Meridan --the high winds/twisters torn stripped the trees, leaving limbs/leaves covering the streets and grounds.

With so much rain prior to the storms, some trees also were uprooted & tossed around -- and when buildings, overhead wires, and gas meters were in their path -- it got messy (and I'm sure very expensive).

At one point, a large area of the city had their power turned off due to the threat of explosion because of leaking natural gas meters.

We are due more storms tonight and then a little lull before another round hits us early next week.

Yes, it's spring on the southern plains and Mother Nature is showing off !