Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Wednesday Vignette: Puffy Clouds

We're in the middle of yet another nasty heatwave.  It didn't cool down much at all last night.  At 7:30am today, it was already 85F (29C).  The temperature hit 90F (32C) before 9am and continued to climb throughout the day, peaking at just over 99F (37C).  For the last few days, there have been clouds in the distance to the east and warnings of flash floods from thunderstorms in the mountains and deserts.  No rain is expected here but late yesterday afternoon the sky was full of fluffy white clouds.



As the sun set, the clouds turned a lovely pink.


View looking west

View looking northeast


So even heatwaves offer some compensations.

Visit Anna at Flutter & Hum to discover what images have caught the attention of other bloggers this Wednesday.


All material © 2012-2015 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

22 comments:

  1. You get such great views Kris. I'm trying not to think about summer coming our way just yet. As you say, it does have its pros though. The longer days are nice, and some plants look better than they do in winter, and you get a bit of growth... Aaaand that's about where it ends :)

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    1. Summer in climates like ours are always tough, Amy. I hope you have a long and pleasant spring before summer descends upon you.

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  2. Stunning, as always... Isn't it remarkable that misery can manifest itself so beautifully? We're looking forward to a hot weekend up here. Darn - I got used to the 70's and 80's really quickly... Anyway, I hope that with our anticipated heatwave, that you get some respite down there...

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    1. No relief is anticipated until early next week, Anna. We slept with the AC on last night - that's only the second time we've done that since we moved here nearly 5 years ago.

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  3. Did you get any rain this afternoon?

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    1. Mother Nature spit at us for about 5 minutes late yesterday afternoon, Jane. My meter didn't show any measurable rain but Weather Underground reported 0.04 inches in this area.

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  4. Great cloud pictures. I love when the sky turns pink at night. It's such a pretty color. So sorry you're getting more unbearable heat.

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    1. I REALLY hope this is summer's last heatwave, Alison.

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  5. Those are wonderful clouds, Kris - a really lovely sunset! But I think they even look hot :/ Am I right in thinking you're getting some pretty high humidity with the heatwave?

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    1. Yes, the humidity shot up yesterday. I spent about 90 minutes in the garden in late afternoon and it felt as if I'd stepped into a sauna.

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  6. Beautiful views, and what contrasts between the first and the rest!

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    1. I love fluffy clouds like those - even when they don't signify rain.

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  7. I am a total sucker for pink puffiness in the evening skies. Your long views are so lovely, even in the heat. I was sorry to see your predicted highs exceeding ours for the next run of days. It is never great to be hotter than Texas in September. Ever.

    We did finally get measurable rainfall after some 7-8 weeks without any. I hope you get some too, in just the right amount and at a rate that won't cause problems. (and that those pesky raccoons will give you a break!)

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    1. Last night the raccoons finally gave us a break, after a series of nighttime raids (or at least I think they did - I didn't check the succulent bed along the street or the bottom of the slope this morning). I'm holding onto a vague hope that some of the monsoonal moisture to the east of us will blow this way and give us a bit of measurable rain but the forecasts don't reflect that possibility.

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  8. The puffy clouds, so delicately pink, are beautiful.

    It poured here but only for about 3 minutes. We got 3 gallons of rainwater collected, which I immediately dumped on a rose. The heat is horrible. I am so thankful for the air conditioner. It would be unbearable without it.

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    1. Unfortunately, we didn't get anything anywhere near a downpour, even a short-term one. It didn't even register on the newest (long story) weather station my husband got me. We're lucky to have AC too - not everyone in our neighborhood does. We even ran it overnight, which we've only done once before. I hope next week's weather is cooler. As it is, almost nothing's getting done in my garden.

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  9. The delicate pink clouds belie the heat! Hopefully the hot weather will end soon. The flash flooding in the mountains west of LA made our news. Hopefully that downpour adds to SoCals water storage rather than just running out to sea

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    1. The key to California's drought is a snow accumulation up north but I hope more people are collecting rainwater where they live. We didn't get any measurable rain in my area. I'm down to less than 40 gallons of what I collected earlier and there's no rain projected for our area in the near future (but then the forecasters were wrong in July so I remain hopeful).

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  10. Incredible temperatures, I don't know how your garden looks so good. Here at last the nights and early mornings are much cooler and the days pleasantly warm, perfect.

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    1. I SO look forward to the return of nighttime temperatures below 80F (26C), Christina!

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  11. Lovely skies. What heat! It must be hard day after day but I would love to bask in it for a few days.

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    1. Recently, it hasn't been the dry heat we're used to here, Chloris, but, if you enjoy a sauna, you might like it ;) As to the locals, we're miserable.

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