Downtown view

I love that we are surrounded by beauty and we just we have to look for it.

I walked through downtown this weekend when the weather was blustery and a little dramatic. I looked up and saw the puffy clouds hovering over St. George Greek Orthodox Church. It reminded me how beautiful changing weather can be.


 "The sky is the daily bread of the eyes." 
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Humans of Downey - Rodolfo

"I can remember when I and my five kids went to Mazatlan, Mexico, to visit their grandmother. My kids were not used to any violent weather. One day while we were there the sky became so black, the rain so heavy, and the lightning so numerous that my kids started crying and I didn't know what to do to help them. I knew we were safe in the house but it was still scary to them.

"Then the lights went out and I had all five kids screaming at me, 'Oh, daddy, I want to go back home. I don't want to stay here.' I said, 'Don't worry, nothing is going to happen to us in here.' But for three or four hours they were shaking and crying, it was very difficult for me to bring them, to calm them down. But it was a good experience because after it was over we were all laughing about how we had responded during the storm. Their grandmother tried to explain that everything would be alright, that they got storms like this one all the time.

"They still recall that storm even 20 years later. My youngest was 3 months old at the time and he says he can remember it because everyone has told the story so many times with such vividness."
~ Rodolfo

Double digits

The days are cooler now, but we keep experiencing the occasional 80-degree day. A day like that practically begs for bare feet. This guy was sunning his feet while enjoying the coolness of his car.

July gloom?

The weather in Downey is being so weird lately. These are the Whittier Hills (just north of Downey) and at 10:00 am, it's humid and muggy and overcast. Yesterday it even rained! What's going on with this summer?

Foggy idea

Getting up early for class means seeing a whole different world outside my house in the mornings. It's been so chilly this past week that I have to sit in the car for a while (read only a few minutes, because really, it's still California) until I can see out my window enough to drive.

Fog is both so dangerously scary and so breathtakingly beautiful, after 26 years, I haven't decided how I feel about it. I guess it's fun to look at but not so fun to be a part of.

Weather "flag"

Weather vanes are both ornamental and functional since they can be used to show the direction of the wind,. Vanes are designed and balanced to point into the wind. So any observer could tell which way the wind was blowing.

In Medieval times, weather vanes designs were often derived from pennants or flags. In fact, according to Wikipedia, the word "vane" is the old English word for fane, meaning flag. 

To see examples of other local weather vanes click here. 

"Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it." - Mark Twain

Weathercock

Dating back to the 13th century, weathercocks (or weather vanes) were used on buildings, often churches, as architectural ornaments with some functionality.

According to Wikipedia, weather vanes can help determine the changing wind direction, which can be meaningful when coordinated with other apparent sky conditions, enabling the user to make simple short range forecasts.

I just think they are fun!

"Good morning weathercock make this day bright
Put us in touch with your fairy winds
Sing to us softly, hum evening's song
Point the way to better days, we can share with you"
- Jethro Tull

Rainfall

I was just wishing for summer to come and then we had a rainy Saturday. It was kind of nice to have a reason to stay inside and just hang out. I spent some time watching the drops fall on the ground just outside my window. It didn't take long for bigger puddles to form. And the shapes the falling rain made in the puddle were almost hypnotic to watch. 

Yosemite: A stormy end

As we were preparing to leave, we made a final quick stop at the meadow to see what the weather was doing to the view. It was still snowing lightly and the clouds were covering much of the granite faces of the rocks, but it just added to the dramatic look.

We made a last stop at the tunnel view on our way out. Of course, Half Dome was once again barely visible, but the raw beauty of Yosemite never fails to amaze me.

Mary, Mary, quite contrary

"Weather means more when you have a garden. There's nothing like listening to a shower and thinking how it is soaking in around your green beans."
-Marcelene Cox

The weather has been quite odd lately in Downey. It can't seem to make up its mind. One morning it's blazing hot with the sun shining on everything in its path as if its life depended on it, and one day, the sun sits back and won't penetrate the clouds the entire morning. As fun as it is to never know if I should wear a sweater or a tank top, it is hard on the gardens in Downey that depend on a consistency in rain and shine.

Raindrops keep falling . . .

"No individual rain drop ever considers itself responsible for the flood!"

The weather has been so crazy today, I felt obligated to take a picture of the rain. It was magical to notice the effects of each rain drop on the pooled water on the back patio.

Rainy day Monday

The high schoolers of Redeemer Covenant Church return from Winter Camp. They had hoped this storm would bring some snow to the camp near Crestline, but all it brought them was more rain.

On a clear day...

f/8, 1/250, ISO 100, 70mm, handheld, 2:33p.m.

I know, the view in this picture isn't very impressive to most people. I'm looking to the north up Paramount Blvd. I used to walk home this way from high school, back in the early 70s, and the mountains were not an unusual site. These days, when you can see the mountains at all, it's time to stop and take a picture.

This is the kind of day that contributes to California population growth. The whole country will see how clear and sunny it is tomorrow as they watch the Rose Parade, and next thing you know, they'll decide to move here themselves, never knowing that it rained all day yesterday.