summer storms

In all the heat we've been enduring it is magical to have thunder clouds roll in. They are always  illuminated from deep within and move swiftly from here to there.

Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of time. John Lubbock

I am linking these to Skywatch Friday where you'll see many more marvelous skies

that old man river

The muddy Mississippi keeps rolling along through Wabasha, Minnesota. Beyond the trees into the clouds is Wisconsin. In spite of the heavy heat and humidity it made me so happy when I spied my first wild rose of the season growing along the railroad tracks. See more lovely skies @Skywatch Friday.

Wild roses are fairest, and nature a better gardener than art.
―Louisa May Alcott   

life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness

all in one day in Minnesota. Linking these random shots to Skywatch Friday.

“The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.”

John F. Kennedy

view from our broad prairie

 Not a breath of air stirred over the free and open prairie; the clouds were like light piles of cotton; and where the blue sky was visible, it wore a hazy and languid aspect.

Francis Parkman

These were the sky views over the prairie I saw on Sunday from the motorcycle. The sky was really that blue. More skies @ Skywatch Friday.

Skywatch Friday

Mercurial weather here all week: cloudy warm days, clear hot days, hazardous winds and some delightfully cool and bright days. The clouds have been gorgeous especially at day's beginning and end. I took this photo along the Mississippi River, from my car.

I captured this wild columbine blossom in the shady woods neighboring Snail Lake--the last one to be found in bloom.

Sharing our Minnesota sky with Skywatch Friday.

I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur of think at some point, 'if this isn't nice, i don't know what is.'– Kurt Vonnegut

remembering Vincent

Yet another stunning sunrise this week in baby blanket colors of pink and blue.

I                                                                          I was thinking of Vincent's Blossoming Almond Tree painting when I chose this tree along Como Lake to shoot. 

                                                                                                                                                                     

More skies to enjoy can be found @ Skywatch Friday.

'Life is a great sunrise.'

The promise of a beautiful day captured from our deck as the sun came up last Sunday. I'm grateful that spring, though limping, is arriving day by day. Also, I'm glad to link this pic to Skywatch Friday.

quote from vladimir nabokov

keep looking up

Given my inimitable skill in reporting the obvious, it has to be said:  Spring has sprung in Minnesota! Windy, brisk and sunny it still feels like late winter but trees and grass have greened nicely. The lakes have thawed, boats are out and Canada Geese continue to squabble over property rights. Best of all the weeping willows along with Goldfinches have been changing into their golden attire. Skies are clear blue, when they're not grey, and the clouds seem more to move with more abandon now.

Comparison is the thief of joy.  Theodore Roosevelt

Visit Skywatch Friday for more sky views.

slow days of autumn

I saw these amazing reflections on Sucker Lake this week. The trees of  many colors stand guard over the lake where loon eggs were hatched, swans stayed on the secluded part of the lake, pelicans and cormorants clustered on a sand bar, herons and egrets fished the banks. We've had bright autumn days with plenty of time to remember summer.

Visit Skywatch Friday for more of the season.

up before the birds

This is the view from my deck this morning facing east as the sun came up through scattered grey clouds.

Across the street, facing west, was that same sun shining on the tops of trees. At first glance they appear to be autumn-kissed but, in fact, are still very green.

Visit Skywatch Friday and be dazzled by skies from all over our planet.

Winter is an etching,

spring a watercolor,

summer an oil painting

and autumn a mosaic of them all.  

 Stanley Horowitz

from the land of sky blue water

More blue skies, from Wisconsin this time. We visited Crex Meadows in Grantsburg where we saw fields full of feasting Sand Hill Cranes as well as ducks sailing around the wild rice paddies, above.

This level prairie terrain was once a glacial lake bed. The water that was once diverted for settlers and industry has been reclaimed here making it a perfect wild place with big, open skies.

Visit Skywatch Friday for more beauty.

summer skies

Green calm below, blue quietness above. John Greenleaf Whittier

Minnesota farm roads and ominous clouds--a skywatcher's dream! More beautiful skies to see at Skywatch Friday.

Johnny Depp meets Skywatch

Sunday the motorcycle took us to WineHaven Winery in Chisago City for a wine tasting. O.K., so the first state that comes to mind when you think wine isn't usually Minnesota, but this winery only imports grapes for their Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and the rest come from this beautiful little valley.

 

Below is the sky view across a corn field leaving the winery. All in all a perfect day for a ride, a sip or two of rhubarb wine or honey mead, a jazz trio backed by incredibly blue skies and lakes.

See more skies from all over our dear planet @ Skywatch Friday. 

Wino Forever

Johnny Depp's tattoo once read 'Winona Forever'
 

Skywatch blues

To see the summer sky is poetry.

Emily Dickenson

After five days of record breaking heat index numbers today dawned cool and breezy with bright blue skies--not those heavy, yellow things full of humidity. Ah summer. . .at Snail Lake today.

See more skies from all over our dear planet @ Skywatch Friday.

Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game.

Thank you, Michael Jordan. My sentiments exactly. On our motorcycle trip to Canada last weekend, I had a lot of time on my hands, time I spent thinking and watching the gorgeous summer skies around me. The clouds were especially playful.

So, what you have to do is match the words to the cloud formation: poodle, prowling cat, seahorse and pyramids. It'll be fun, I promise!

For more fun skies, visit Skywatch Friday here.