Fire and Lightning

Tuesday's excessive heat resulted in much lightning late that night. Sleep was being its elusive self yet again, so I wandered about the house munching arrowroot cookies and observing the lightning from several vantage points: my den window, front porch, bedroom window, and patio doors.

I tried a photo from the bedroom window, but the screens were a problem because the phone wanted to focus on the screening rather than the light show. I wasn't about to start removing the screens with Sue sleeping just a few feet behind me, so I took the phone to the patio door downstairs.

I didn't go out but just opened the door a tad on a hot night and took a few photos. It was sheet lightning, so it just lit up the sky generally as in the following image. Both before and after the lightning flash the sky was almost black.

The lightning will show up much better in the clip, below. The show went on and on like this for a considerable time. (You know that you can embiggen the video, right? Just click the middle icon of the three on the bottom right.)

The phone is amazing. It tells me to hold the phone steady for up to 10 seconds for night exposures, but it still keeps the image pretty sharp. I tried another app, for long exposures just to see how it would work, but it picked up unintentional camera movement because you can't hold a phone steady for 15 seconds, and its algorithm does not compensate for that. When I saw what was happening, I moved the phone even more, deliberately, and this ↓ is the fun result.

The power did go out but not for long. On our morning walk, I took a photo of our smoke-diminished sun. This happens every summer now, but I don't remember it too much in the first of our two decades here.

Meanwhile, we’ve probably all see stunning photos in our online haunts. 

Posting About Monday on Wednesday

I am posting in the present tense, but I wrote this piece on Monday, and have just updated it a bit since then. I say this in case the timeline gets confusing.

I am in my chair early in the morning, doing my morning things, such as checking your posts. My casement window is open on the perpendicular, which is as wide as it can open.

When the nights become cool enough to turn off the AC, I do open the window as far as it goes before I turn in for the night. 

When the window is open on the perpendicular like this, there are moments when it catches the sun in such a way that I am almost blinded as I do my morning things in my chair at close to a ninety-degree angle to the window.

It’s not quite blinding me this morning because there is a softening smoke in the air due to forest fires from northwestern Ontario, I think. If I were to crank the window back just a few degrees, it would not reflect like this, but I don’t think of that at night when I try to grab every cubic centimeter of cool air that I can. 

The sun is also reflecting off the computer screen. I do get some interesting light off the device.

And . . .  here I am, back after our walk (still written on Monday). We took a shady route, starting at the market and heading north to the trail bridge. But first, I snapped a photo of our echinacea.

When we reached the bridge, I zoomed in on the purple loosestrife growing down by the rocks. They return to the same spot every summer. One might think that the rushing water in other seasons would wash the seeds or roots away. Strange.

There are always dogs on the trail. Sometimes, they want to say hello. We lingered long enough for the couple to give us treats to hand out. 

Meanwhile, the man talked ot me for a long time about his photography. He seemed to know me and was asking abut my camera and software, and he was probably unimpressed that I now use the phone. I have no memory of previously meeting this man, but I know a lot about him now. :)

Sunday Walk, Mostly Flowers

Today will be blistering, climbing into the higher 30s Celsius and getting close to 100F. We shan't be venturing forth. However, Sunday morning was delightful when we walked to the park.

Wild Carrot by the Pond

Riverview from the Bench

I'll sneak in these Coneflowers: also from the park, but they were seen on a previous day.

At home, the first daylily had opened: posted especially with the Furry Gnome in mind.

I picked a few fresh flowers for the little bouquet in my room: especially for Boud.

Selfie + Purple

Selfie + Purple was Sue's photo prompt on Saturday. She dressed up with a purple scarf, and off we went to the park. I was to be her human selfie stick. She composed the photo, situated herself, and I pressed the shutter. 

Of course, she made a collage.

Here are two singles.

She has a flair, doncha thnk?

This Little Light of Mine

We have had a solar garden light out front for many summers, but when we set it up this spring, it decided that it was too tired to shine again. Because it still has some merit as a decoration, we left it up anyway. Lo and behold! More than a month later, just last week in July,we noticed it casting a minimal amount of light one evening. When, I saw a smidgen of light emanating from it for the second time on Friday night, I grabbed my phone and tripod to memorialize the event.

These photos cost me blood, for the mosquitoes were ferocious, and I was soon itching and scratching in many locations on my body.

It seemed right to get some photos of the light that is trying so hard to shine, but that is me anthropomorphizing an inanimate object. I have also tended to feel the same way about the last few vehicles that have lived fairly long lives, and I kept my Christmas poinsettia in the window until just a few days ago because it was trying so hard.

Sentimental and silly.

Big Job Done

Thursday morning at the computer: I turn to my right and spy a Tim's coffee cup — on the other side of the screening, if you please.

I was amused, for I hadn't noticed one of the roofers placing it there for safekeeping. If he had only known me and my predilection for Tim's coffee, he might have chosen differently, but I'll have you know that I did desist from nabbing it. The even funnier thing is that when I looked again it was gone. Obviously, he was a very stealthy roofer which of course is exactly what we all expect of roofers — to have ballerina-like twinkle toes. Admit it, you've always pictured roofers in their big safety books as being light on their feet and dancing on the rooftops.

While I had already been out to greet them, it was about time to check again. The ladders were up . . . 

. . . and the boys were beginning to get to work.

It took me some editing to bring out that ↑ much colour on a dull day, and I figured that I may be editing most of the day's pics in mono silhouette style. As it eventuated, I was pretty well right about that.

The boys were primarily going to be working at the back first, so we walked around the lengthy block where I got these images.

I really wanted to watch the boom truck unloading, so I made sure that I was back out front at the propitious time. I took video mostly of the loading of the pallet to the roof, and for the present, I now can't be bothered with them since they would require editing to trim to a reasonable length, so I'll just show one photo of the truck in our driveway.

I did grab a few photos of the men guiding the shingles pallet.

Then, of course, the typical thing happened. It poured, and they all went home early. I won't elaborate now, for I have done so before, but this is how my life tends to go. We'd hired the roofers almost two months ago or at least began the process then, so surely, we were doing it right. It's been hot and dry here lately, just perfect for laying shingles. But oh no, not so fast, old AC, we need to rain on your silly, little parade.

While they were up there, it poured. It wasn't just a passing shower either. Definitely not! It was the beginning of the whole rainy afternoon and a kind of continuation of my weird little life. At least no one was struck by lightning, and they did get the tar paper down on the one section that they had begun.

They returned on Friday and took all day to finish the job — about 12 hours. I was feeling a bit sorry for them, but they said that they are used to those hours. They seemed diligent and even fastidious about doing a good job. Hopefully. our somewhat exposed roof will be secure for many years. The former roof never did seem secure, and we experienced blowoffs a number of times.

Cool Morning, Hot Afternoon

It was so hot in Wednesday afternoon when I picked up JJ to drive him to work that I finally engaged the ancient car's AC which, somewhat miraculously, worked. The car thermometer read 32C which is 90F.

The day had begun much better, however. We were downtown for photos and a walk by 9am. Sue is starting to take photos for the summer view of the river scene that she has chosen for her 4 seasonal photos this year. I imagine that we'll be back for more takes before she finds suitable conditions.

We swung through the drivethru and took our coffees to a nice bench overlooking the river.

'Twas very pleasant in the cool of the morning, the moderate temperature abetted by a gentle, cooling breeze. As we sat appreciating both the coffee and the ambiance, a flotilla of geese paddled by bobbing ever so leisurely upriver. I think there were 13 in all. But then another gaggle of 19 came by, so I grabbed a short video of the strange procession.

Believe it or not, a third group swam by a few moments later, probably making it close to 50 young geese in all. 

Upon leaving the park we did our grocery shopping, and I also took Danica to her work. The whole morning had been quite mild, so I was taken aback by the extreme heat when I took Jonathan to work in the afternoon.