While we enjoyed a 24-hour reprieve from the onset of rain, clearly elsewhere it was coming down at a record pace.
For us Monday was just a very wet day but we saw reports of floods and were not surprised to lose electricity that night.
Being without light much less of an annoyance than being without running water.
.
We keep bottled water for these occasions and we could employ the generator but it was late so we retired to our beds.
My phone received updates from the power company which reminded me of life at the airport when we had “creeping” mechanical delays.
A few false starts had my printer hiccuping, but we were “up” by 2 am.
.
Curiously, it was only poor blind Lucy that seemed disturbed.
As I lay juggling flashlight, book and cat (Patches), Lucy could not settle, calling out constantly for reassurance.
The only difference to our normal routine was the absence of music. Could that have been it?
.
By dawn the rain had moved out leaving us with a misty morning.
We were off to Clifton Park, across the Hudson which was in an impressive state.
It brought to mind the coffee-coloured rivers of Southeast Asia..
.
People here were very much more fortunate than some, the Hudson just a few feet short of their living room floors and basements.
No sign today of geese floating peacefully in the shallows.
.
Or waddling about on the shore.
No shore in sight.
.
We decided to check out the locks.
.
Arriving just in time to see…
A magnificent Great Blue Heron
Our second heron sighting of the day
We had come upon another
in the pond at the end of our road.
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Leaving the lock: young Ospreys.
We hoped they weren’t too hot up there as the day had become sunny with a steadily rising temperature.
.
Fields taking on their summer look
A favourite tree swallows a farm house
So many shades of green
It’s a good year for lilies!
Colours seem so bright
Wild flowers line the roads
Lilies grow where they please!
In July I remember how much I love Winter and think:
“But this is lovely too.”
The extremes are so opposite, it is almost impossible to conceive that they occur so quickly.
23rd February 2023, left. 11th July 2023 right.
It seems wherever I look this summer, it is raining. We’ve been having that incessant drizzly stuff for the past few days. I find it quite depressing when it seems all the time. Hopefully, we will have better weather for tomorrow. 🙂
Thank you, Carolyn, for the beautiful photos!
Joanna
Brilliant heron pictures! I am glad to hear you are not flooded. The news is full of flooding devastation in your part of the world, while here in Missouri we continue to struggle with dry conditions. Hoping for better days!
I have read that blind animals (including the human kind) often use an echo sounding radar sense to aid their awareness of their surroundings. Perhaps the lack of indicators was unsettling Lucy?
Yes, maybe. I hate it when she is distressed.
I understand. You feel so helpless because you don’t know how best to help her.
Nice contrast
The roadside lilies are lovely indeed, and it was great to get a sighting of Osprey chicks too.
Best wishes, Pete.
I’d rather be without electricity (which happens a lot these days), before I’m without water! The Hudson River looks pretty full to me and I had to laugh at the Heron – in those first few photos it almost looks like he/she is tippy toe 😄. You’re right, the colours in Summer are beautiful – that green is so intense! It was nice to see the last two pictures … and guess what, I like them both!
Wow, I’ve never encountered such hard rain or the lights going out myself before. I hope that you all were alright in the end, especially Lucy. Also, beautiful heron, by the way! They always like to nibble at the fishes in our pond.