After the storm.

One thing you can say about my hilltop home.  When the storm passes by, the sky puts on a show all its own.  This past week has had its share of unsettled weather.  Hail.  Thunder.  Lightning.  Crashing rain.  Wind that blows until you are sure you will be swept down to the river and beyond.  

But when all the excitement is over and the sun begins to set I take my camera outside to the porch and see what Nature has to show me after the storm.

The light is truly unbelievable.  I wish I had the kind of camera that can capture that golden glow from the sun's rays that covers trees and grass and rock, bathing them in a almost tangible mellow light.  It doesn't last long.  But I remember it and wait for the next chance to see this transformation of the ordinary into the sublime.  

And the sky.  My poor rendition of the sky that night really does not do it justice.  The color from rich red to glowing pink and yellow, shading into blue and mauve and gray.  The clouds forming billows, shapes changing by the second, streaks of  white here tinged with sunset glow, there with the last remnants of angry, blustery wind and rain.  

I can almost hear the hilltop sigh in relief.  The elements had done their best to tear it apart.  But it stood strong against the attack.  And now all of us can breathe easy again.  And enjoy the scene that only peace and quiet can bring, after the storm.