We’ve been fortunate to receive much-needed rain in occasional storms the last few days, off and on. This weekend, I caught a part of a rainbow peeking through a patch of open sky when glancing out a window in my house. It was worth the uncomfortable barefoot trod into the dirt road to see…
We’ve been fortunate to receive much-needed rain in occasional storms the last few days, off and on. This weekend, I caught a part of a rainbow peeking through a patch of open sky when glancing out a window in my house. It was worth the uncomfortable barefoot trod into the dirt road to see the full expanse of these two rainbow with full color spectrums on display.
Isn’t it a wonderful thing, that we never quite outgrow the magic and awe of rainbows?
This evening brought a long and softly-rolling thunder storm to our home. A long-awaited simple pleasure, I turned off every sound-making machine, opened every window that was not rain-facing and turned off any unnecessary lighting. And then I immersed in the deep reverberation of the storm as is slowly and gently, passed through.
Yesterday brought an interesting storm front just south of our home that made for curious cloud watching from our front yard.
This time of year will see storms coming through more regularly until winter settles in. Until then, we will enjoy the cloud watching, remain prepared and remember that mother nature is not to be trifled with.
In an earlier post, I introduced you to Winter the neighborhood stray cat. Winter has walked through our property on his or her way to adventures unknown since we moved into our home. Often just pausing a moment to stare into a window before heading on his or her daily journeys
In late 2021 we noticed Winter received some type of ailment or injury precariously close to the eye area.
Once the bitter cold Wyoming winter temperatures approached, we began to put out little snacks when Winter would come around and perch on the porches of our house. Often he or she would have to deal with a bigger bully cat nearby, but we got crafty trying to only put out the food when Winter was here and taking it back in when he or she departed.
To our dismay, the wound began to get noticeably worse. We were baffled what it could be: Injury, tumor, or something else all ran through my mind. I began to consider we may have to trap our wary visitor if humane treatment was needed, but this cat is not simply skittish; Winter is feral. This led me to consider just how traumatic and stressful for the animal a trapping experience would be.
We phoned our local vet who advised that unless the cat was in severe physical distress, it was best to let it try to recover on its own.
Recently things started looking up since the above photo was taken, with the wound having decreased in overall mass. We are hoping to see it improve still more in time.
I researched online groups like Alley Cat Allies that advocate to help feral and stray cats. Interestingly, they note that many feral cats may be seen alone but likely survive as part of a group or colony. Also, feral cats are more bonded to the geography of where they live than a house or person they may visit (so while well-meaning people try to “keep” them, a feral cat will nearly always try to get back to its original territory). I found consensus from sources that unless a cat begins to warm to a person, or begins to show socialization, it will not likely end well for the cat to try to keep it. There are some ways you can help still, depending on your situation. (So glad we have organizations out there that put this kind of helpful information online for the rest of us!)
Being someone who wants to care for any hurting creature, it’s hard to see this little soul struggle with this injury and not able to welcome it into our home. (Our resident cat Fury cannot risk being with other animals due to her conditions). So we continue to put out snacks and water when its freezing or when Winter appears by the door. Once warmer temperatures arrive, our plan is to slowly reduce until we can revert our friendly visitor back to hunting on its own. Until then, we will keep a close eye on our little fur friend closely.
Few things in this life can soothe the soul like a sunset. There is something about seeing the sun disappear that tells our anxieties to calm.
We are fortunate here on our little hill to have beautiful skies in the evenings. I have not been venturing out much to see them, being averse to the cold and wind. The colors soon began reflecting into our living room through the glass in our front door though, I stepped out to see the show.
And what a show it was…
In the space of just minutes, the cloudscape began to glow, then smolder and finally it became miles of embers. The colors a reverie for everything to begin to rest.
The thing about a really great sunset is that is that it is just so bigger than we can really grasp; it is more wondrous than our minds can fully understand. When you think in terms of how wide the sky really is, how big and far away the sun exists and the spectrum of colors that our cameras cannot entirely replicate: It’s just more than we can grasp, and so we watch in awe.
As the last light slipped away I was still and soothed.
Standing in the grass of a cold night, I had not remembered the temperature, the dark nor the fact that the entire sunset occurred in mere minutes. Withdrawing from the moment I walked back to the electricity, sound and goings on of our home. And frankly it was a bit disappointing to lose the mesmerizing feeling.
Still holding on to the last lingering calm, I resolve to myself that here is enough overload in life right now. It is important to watch the sunsets when we can. I hope you can catch one where you live too.
This was a photo from last year, just before the pandemic hit. It’s a gorgeous photo with the only editing being to sharpen some detail of the outline of the trees and distant details. The hues of color and fire are entirely from Mother Nature. Who knew the world would change so much just weeks later. But for that evening, it was just another Wyoming feast for the eyes.
Revisiting autumn memories in Virginia on a Wyoming winter’s day.
I stumbled across this photograph that always warms my heart when I see it. It was an intentionally random frame of the changing leaves in the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens in Lakeside, Virginia. This treasure chest of cultivated gardens was a place I loved to visit and always returned home refreshed and peaceful.
The garden areas one could stroll quietly were a gem in the rough of daily noise of life. Here there was quiet contemplation and mutual appreciation of the solitude from any other souls found while strolling along paths or on benches.
“Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all.” – Stanley Horowitz
On this autumn day, I couldn’t take my gaze away from the trees and leaves. All were on full, glorious display with greens, golds, reds, bronze and every shade in between. There is something special about all the seasons in every region, but autumn back east carries something unique in the falling leaves and the variations of transitioning seasonal colors. Something wise and very old.
This is what I find myself reflecting on today here in the Wyoming winter among the sharp winds and the cold. I remember standing still with watchful eyes on a winding brick pathway aged with moss. And I can still see in my mind, beyond this photo, the old and well-tended tree branches and woods brimming with autumn secrets and beauty. Hopefully, someday, I’ll have the chance to visit again and see this place now years well past, and enjoy the quiet embrace of this beautiful east coast season again.
This year’s Christmas was a quiet holiday at home due to schedules not lining up for all of our families to come together on the day. The hubs and I still celebrated with Fury the Wonder Cat and even had a brief wave of snow flurries (I don’t know that flurries qualify for a white Christmas but it was still nice). We kept the air of the holidays going with this concoction in the crock pot which helped our home both look and smell merry and bright!
Tonight we found ourselves cloud watching again while heading into town. Rain clouds are always interesting and never roll in the same!
We were treated to a free air show from our front yard in Cheyenne, WY while the USAF Thunderbirds performed their annual air acrobatics as part of the 2019 Cheyenne Frontier Days celebrations.
My sister-in-law and her husband were in town to see the bull riding competition and stayed with us during their trip. As they prepared to leave, we heard the tell-tale sound of loud aircraft overhead and went outside.
These photos were taken as we sat in the grass and watched the show. They flew northward towards our home over and over as they used the area to prepare their formations and fly over the airshow viewing area (this year at F.E. Warren Air Force Base.
The precision flying on display was nothing short of amazing and was a treat to get to enjoy unexpectedly from the comfort of our own home. The skies were blue with just the faintest clouds here and there; a perfect day for an air show.
My husband and I traded off the mobile and SLR cameras as I bounced back and forth between taking photos and taking videos. Ultimately my husband snagged most of these photos (because he’s pretty handy with photography). We both loved the opportunity to get shots of the jets flying in front of and around the moon still visible in the late morning sky.
This shot was similar to the jets in formation above, but the contrast was terrific against the clouds and if you zoom in, you can almost make out the pilots in each cockpit.
I can’t fathom the knowledge and training that goes into making performances like these look so smooth. Undoubtedly, it’s a lot of skill and trust amongst teammates.
Even with a strong telephoto lens, this guy was wayyyyy up there.
By the time this formation finished, it looked almost like the outline of a morning glory in bloom. The timing was exact and each jet was in identical position from each of the four points while a fifth jet flew straight up from the middle.
All in all, a really fantastic opportunity to get to see the USAF Thunderbirds in action and be in awe of a tremendous team of airmen. We look forward to seeing them again next year hopefully!
Life by Lens and Laptop 