Just Like That...

THIS...


.... turns into this:

One minute things are all sunny and happy and the next minute I'm in the dark, stubbing my pinkie toe, tripping over a nervous dog, looking for the damn flashlight and candles because the storm of the century is upon us... it's no fun getting teenagers out the door for school with the power out in total darkness, but we got it done.

October was the sunniest on record, EVER, beating the previous record set in 1958. No wonder I've been in a decent mood. I thought maybe hormones were leveling, but now I'm sure it was the sunshine. I'm glad my head was out of my ass far enough to notice it, appreciate it and revel in it. It was splendid.

Yesterday, the weather gods gifted us with a late October balmy sunny day that was too good to be true. Today, the storm cells cover 2200 miles of North America: the wind is howling, with gusts this morning at 60 mph, sustained at 30 or so. The house is shaking, the windows are rattling, and they're saying this will continue for 3 days. Damn. My little town had a small tornado destroy a barn, but otherwise we are lucky, destruction-wise. Weather-wise, we are screwed. It will be awful for about a week and when the winds and monsoons are gone, we'll be left with is bare trees and varying shades of gray and brown. Lucky for me, and for you, my lovely readers, or am I down to a reader! that I took many photos of the leaves this week, so I could remember them when they are gone. I'll share them in a later post. Here's the best one:



And so it goes.

Anyway, it wouldn't be a Mel post without a nature shot or too. In honor of the pending Halloween festivities, here are some creepy crawly things for you to look at. This spider has driven me crazy all season. She's almost as fat as my thumb, and spins giant webs, six feet across, from the tree branches to the ground. I've run into them at night TWICE. Ick, ick, ick. Once I rode my bike through it, calling to the dog and got a mouthful of web, but clearly no spider. She will not give up, this one.

This one I found in the grass in North Carolina. Looks like a skull on her body, almost.
This is evidence of pure love. My husband called me outside as I was rushing out the door, saying nature lover that I am, he knew I'd want to see the largest praying mantis he'd ever seen. It's sweet how he indulges my nature nutty side. Of course I had to go get the camera and the tape measure, because that's how I roll. I've seen one or two bigger, but this one is grand.

So, wishing us all calm breezes, sunny days and creepy crawlies in their proper places.
Until next time.