Another rainbow

It's a cold, wet, somewhat dreary day here, and I thought to cheer myself up I would post the following two photos that I took a couple of weeks ago. Jeannine and I were out on short walk with the dogs, and, coming around the north end of the barn, we were greeted with this beautiful sight.

It was unexpected, and I guess that's probably the best way to see rainbows. It was definitely an "Oooh!" moment.




Or maybe an "Aaah!"

Whatever the case, it certainly was lovely... and another reminder (as if I needed one) that it's a good idea to have my camera with me at all times. -- PL

Bunnies and rainbows

A couple of days ago, our area got hit pretty hard, once again, by a series of quick, powerful wind and rain storms.Our power got knocked out for about twenty hours, and some towns in the region just got their power back hours ago. Lots of trees, big ones, came down. In Hadley the bike path was closed by about ten different tree falls, and I suspect the same was true elsewhere on the path.

But today is lovely. Jeannine and I have been sitting on our back porch, enjoying the temperate breeze wafting through the screened-in windows. A few hours ago, I saw a cute little rabbit hop by on our patio -- I don't think I've ever seen one that close to the house. Alas, I was not quick enough with my camera to get a shot of it.

However, about five days ago I was ready with the camera to catch an unexpected rainbow after a quick shower. Here's a panoramic view...



... and a closeup view, probably the clearest I've ever taken of any part of a rainbow.



It was quite something -- it looked like a special effect, not something real.

But even better than a bunny, lovelier than a rainbow...




... is our daughter Emily, home for a brief visit, and seen here bonding with her little dog Louis. -- PL

Timing is everything

We had two great days of riding weather in a row this weekend -- yesterday was sunny and 90º (!), while today was almost as sunny but a few degrees cooler. I got out both days, yesterday exploring some areas of northeast Connecticut I had never been in before, and today doing one of my favorite rides up the Mohawk Trail to Williamstown (and gazpacho at Desperados).



On my way back home I was surprised to see a rainbow -- surprised because as far as I could tell, it had not rained at all. It took me a few minutes to find a place to safely pull over, one with a good field of view of the area in which I had seen the rainbow. Alas, this optical phenomenon was as ephemeral as it was beautiful -- by the time I got my camera out, it had almost vanished. I did manage to catch a tiny bit of it in this panorama -- can you see it? -- PL