RAINBOWS

We've been having a warmer than normal winter so  far.

This week is frigid.

Yesterday, Sunday January 10, 2016, it was warm - upper 40's to low 50's. YAY!!!

It was raining at times, and drizzling at times.

The sun started peeking out around 11am, with a drizzle. then...

RAINBOW!!!

As we traveled from Plains by the river, past Wilkes-Barre, 

there were some dramatic clouds in the clearing sky. 

 Early afternoon, here's the SECOND STUNNING RAINBOW!

Looking through the barren winter branches in the back yard.

RAINBOWS!

A few days ago we had warmer than normal temps, with rain.

just before a cold front moved in.

I saw TWO BEAUTIFUL RAINBOWS, one late morning:

 Then we got back on the road. Dramatic clearing clouds in the sky while passing Wilkes-Barre.

 Early afternoon, here's ANOTHER rainbow!

Views from our backyard. 

The entire arch touches down in front of the mountains on the west side of the Susquehanna River.

early autumn canopy

amazing - the enjoyment from standing under a tree along the street - 

experiencing the early Autumn colors on a crisp morning...
then getting out ofthe way of a passing car.

and love the smell of the leaves 

as the morning dew 

is evaporating in the sunshine.

This is how much the leaves have changed down in "The Valley", along the river.

sunset last night

A lovely #sunset last night.

8-15pm, shortly before a thunderstorm, bringing in a coldfront.

Very humid. 

There are thunderstorm warnings for all surrounding counties.

LOVE those rays.

the sun is disappearing.

This is a few minutes later. 

mountain and sky

BEAUTIFUL SUNSETS

in my backyard

On the Wilkes-Barre area side of the Susquehanna River looking west to the mountain range beyond the river and Kingston/Forty Fort, towards the back mountain (Dallas, Shavertown, Trucksville). The deep dip in the mountain range is where the CrossValley (Rt 309) cuts up and through on its way "North".
map of the area

a few days ago

and a few days before that

a beautiful after-storm sky 

and the day before that...

LOVELY!!! Have a great day! TGIF!!

robin nest & Spring colors & sun

a few weeks ago I saw a robin in the nest. They're back!

(now the babys have hatched and the parents are busy flying back & forth feeding them.)

Back when I first saw the robin,

 there was a mockingbird.

Bad bird!

He was in a recent previous post.

He and I played "tag" as I was trying to shoo him away.

He kept hopping just one more branch away from me as we kept going around... I was circling this japanese maple tree in the yard. He was NOT happy with me... but eventually left. Does not bother the robins anymore. hah!

Some lovely early Spring color. 

and finally warm sunshine.

                       

mockingbird in tree

 A recent sunset - Plains, looking across the river towards the west side - the sun is moving towards the right in the sky, and will be settling in the dip in the mountain range during the summer. That dip is where the Crossvalley cuts up and over to Dallas. 

 This stubborn mockingbird! (the fir is also the tall tree at the left edge of the 1st photo) Bird's going after a robin's nest. every day.

He was in the yard... kept hopping from branch to branch as I tried to chase him away and leave the baby robins alone... around  this japanese maple. THREE times! finally flew away.

They're safe. at least for one more day :o)

Winter sunset

We only got light snow in the #Wilkes-Barre, PA area Wyoming Valley#nepa this  afternoon (predicted 1-3"). Now it's breezy and the temps are dropping to the teens tonight, and a predicted high of only 26 (yikes!) tomorrow. But what a beautiful #sunset outside just a few minutes ago! 

Look how far over the sunset moved to the left!

During the Summer, the sun used to set all the way over in that dip in the mountains to the far right. That's where rte 309, the Cross Valley Expressway, cuts North towards Dallas, PA after it crossed the Susquehanna river. You can't tell here, but the altitude is much higher there - quite a climb up and through the mountains.

Last Night's Eerie Drama

We had a storm front moving through - & some DRAMATIC cloud formations in the sky!

The start of a humid & warmer-than-usual few days for the Labor Day holiday weekend, 

with highs averaging in the mid 80s.  (this was actually night before last, Aug 29, 2013)

** Here's a panoramic view**

just as it's starting

I also show closeups left & right, below this photo.

They are all within 10 minutes: 7:40pm or so - 7:50pm.

THE SETUP

Around 7:00 we noticed the sky outside... it didn't look yellow, in fact there were bright blue areas to the Southwest (That's the left side of this photo), but it "felt" yellow.  The air itself was yellow - 

a thick dark yellow.

The wind was still - nonexistant, even though you could tell something was approaching from up the street. Eerie!

I went outside, the sun had just dipped down behind the mountain - the sun sets in the center of the panorama above, right where there's a dip in the crest, a passage through the mountain to the other side.

(ALRIGHT,... 

I can't resist ...

 imagine creepy sci-fi music playing as you read, "to the other side" above.)

Back to reality people! That "dip" in the mountains is where the local highway, the North Cross Valley Expressway, rt 309, cuts and climbs through the mountain, giving access from the major highways and the Wyoming Valley cities & riverside towns... "to the other side" (couldn't resist again), to the "Back Mountain" as it's called locally, towns of Shavertown, Trucksville, Dallas... I posted a Google map on August 14, 2013.

     I digress. So... I went outside. the sky was blue, we had just had a nice sunset with greying clouds lined with streaks of pink then purple. Nice. But,    the    air      felt     yellow.  I turned around and looked up the street (off the panoramic view, off from the right).  The sky was an entire mass of GRAY. Heavy. Then I started hearing lots of distant rumblings. You probably guessed right - those rumblings were approaching thunder & lightning. You could palpably feel the air getting thicker, then the breezes started as I ran around the yard, prepping for a storm, in case there were strong gusts.

A FEW PHOTOS OF IMPRESSIVE CLOUDS EVENT

     Then I went inside, upstairs to the window where I can get the best shots, and started shooting. 

 First was the panoramic view above.

Closer view looking LEFT: approx 7:43pm

     

Closer view looking LEFT: approx 7:49pm

Interesting how some clouds started poking up higher & higher at the top.

Closer view looking RIGHT: approx 7:43pm

 Closer view looking RIGHT: approx 7:49pm

(In this shot I zoomed back out. I wanted to catch what I could of the huge cloud at the top.)

Then the sky turned grey, almost completely cloud-covered,

as the storm arrived.

FINAL NOTE: I wish you could have been here! I'm sure you probably experienced similar weather events, so you know how powerful the visuals and feelings can get. After this, there was nothing worth recording. It was grey. there was wind. Some rain. Somewhat anti-climactic. 

But this part was really quite fun. And beautiful.

 *1 or 2 of these photos will be available at http://christina-verdgeline.artistwebsites.com in the "My Mountain" gallery.

the 4th of July

I LOVE the excitement of the celebration, and the sense of community when everyone gathers to listen to the philharmonic perform, usually climaxing with  Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture,  just as the first rockets shoot up into the air.
 I started taking MANY photos on Independence Day, from my window. (It was much to hot and humid to be walking around outside, especially since I'd hurt my ankle, but I knew with my view of "da valley" I'd see multiple celebrations.  I kept missing them, tried different settings on my camera... didn't like the looooong "fireworks" setting. WOW, so many photos!!! I edited out quite a few.

    But first: here's the lovely evening sky. I set my chair at the window 

      and started shooting around 8:40pm.

then zooming in a little towards the right.

a panorama after the sun dropped beyond the mountain ridge

And here are some of the shots of fireworks in different spots across the Susquehanna River,

on the West Side of the Wyoming Valley.

*******

The main local fireworks that evening were at Kirby Park, across the river in Kingston, PA,

a little over 2 miles away, south of my location - to the LEFT of my mountain view.

******

I turned left & zoomed in when I started hearing all the blasts, and here are some of the higher ones I saw, just over the treetops:

The grand finale starts:

This is my favorite:

I call it " Fire Art"

(available at http://christina-verdgeline.artistwebsites.com/ )