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Tuesday, November 9, 2010

A Walk on the Mellow Side of Florida.

Florida is not my favorite place to visit. Too beastly hot. Too stinkin' humid. Too insanely crowded. And too many crazies all over the place. However, even Florida can occasionally have its placid moments of mellow beauty...mostly when it's cold and everyone is hibernating indoors. We visited Florida recently for a big family celebration and the weather there was about as chilly as it was in Michigan when we left!  Not that I mind. I prefer coolish temps to broiling heat and energy-zapping humidity any day. A sudden November cold snap (in the 50s) hustled most folks off the beaches. Unusually blustery winds churned the tranquil Gulf of Mexico into a roiling, rollicking surfer's paradise. Here are a few shots I captured off Englewood Beach near Venice, Florida.  

The Gulf of Mexico kicks up some righteous waves.
Rough surf and cool temps make for an uncrowded yet scenic day at the beach .
Vacant beach chairs look happy not to be hosting somebody's plump rump.
Surf's up, dude.  But nobody's around to hang ten.
Strolling home through a canopy of beach greenery.

Solitary lounge chair savors the peace and quiet.


Sunset over the Gulf of Mexico at 5000 feet up.

Sky high sunset is breathtaking over Gulf at Clearwater Beach.
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Monday, November 1, 2010

Holy Cyclone!

Recently, the Midwest section of the United States was hit with a vengeful and freakish storm. It was a violent October tempest with ferocious winds, battering rain and tornadoes. Extremely unusual for this time of year. Meteorologists dubbed it the Midwest Cyclone or the Great Lakes Cyclone. Newscasters reported that it was the second worst storm on record to hit the Midwest in the fall...ever! They said the bariatric pressure was the lowest in recorded weather history! And apparently that's not a good thing. Lucky for us, where we live in Michigan, we dodged a major bullet. The hurricane force winds...that raged for three days and nights nonstop... uprooted some trees and created 25 foot waves in Lake Michigan. But overall, we escaped the worst of the devil's destruction.

Yet, even in this fearsome weather rampage amidst tornado sirens wailing, people cowering in their basements and winds blowing off rooftops...there lurked a fascinating beauty. I was able to capture some of the awesome power of this rare cyclone-storm in the photos below...as tumultuous clouds bullied the skies over our neighborhood.
Holy cyclone. The storm is upon us!
Is this where the Wizard of Oz lives?

Is it just me or does that cloud resemble a giant rhinoceros about to attack?

OK, clouds. Now you're really scaring me.
Even in celestial fury, there is heavenly beauty. Cue the angels.
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