Tuesday, October 24, 2006

quaint vignettes from my charming rural idyll



I finally caught this!
Of course you can't make it out for jackshit, but it's there nonetheless. Try the clickie for biggie and see what you can see.

I am headed south-I almost wrote driving south, but credit me for having the sense to pull over to the side of the road before I dick with the camera-anyway, headed south, shooting this facing towards the east. That odd haystack cloud formation, looping up over the mountain there? That is a rainstorm being blown up, over and south by a freak northeast wind down the Fraser Valley. Were there no wind, that rain would be falling in Canada, around Yarrow. As it is it's blowing up and over, and coming down around the bottom of Reese Hill. Which is that hill in the picture there.
Here's what you're supposed to be seeing:













Here's another view of it. I've traveled another quarter mile headed south. Once again, facing east:



What happens is this: that mountain, hill, whatever you call it, is a spur of the Cascade foothills that nips into the northeast flow of the Fraser Valley and creates something like a backwash, or a venturi effect. ( I don't know what that would be in meteorological terms.) When the northeast wind veers just right, you get amazing cloud formations and standing weather patterns, like huge monster thunderstorms that lay trapped up against the northern face of that spur and stay there for hours, firing off lightning like a Frankenstein movie. Or backwards-arching rainstorms.


I could be totally full of shit, too.










I don't hear National Geographics photography department beating down my door either.
Oh well.
To me, stuff like this is cool. I grew up in a place where there was only two kinds of weather-shitty, humid and hot, or shitty, humid and cold. To me, this is BIG weather. Of course, according to people from the Midwest, this is sad, tiny weather, I know, but I like it.

13 comments:

  1. I think it's cool. All you get over here is smog fog mist and rain. And sheep.

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  2. I love a bit of weather , as you can imagine Chez Beasty is no stranger to bad wind (us being on the coast......what did you think I meant ???).
    So I vote for wind.
    I had 'apparent wind' explained (badly) to me while I was wind surfing.Its one of those subjects that actually makes no sense whatsoever , was made up by a madman.....and almost makes me froth at the mouth.
    I dont know why I mentioned it as I am going to have to go and punch something.....hmmmm now where IS Mr C

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  3. Ooooh I forgot I love thunderstorms as well , The Beast gets very excited.

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  4. Anonymous2:00 AM

    ok so i know two things:
    1. u like geography
    2. u like photography

    well at least we share one interest, no! not geography stupid.

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  5. I like it, too. It reminds me of the fog that goes spilling over Twin Peaks.

    Then again, I am prone to watch the Weather Channel for far longer than necessary.

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  6. everyone: yes, I've actually done a post about the damn weather.
    I'm not ashamed.
    I'm proud.
    Yes, I'm proud and I take back nothing.
    NOTHING.
    *trudges off humming 'My Way'*

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  7. FN, you reminded me of my dad (may he rest in peace) who was a weather freak. When he died he left various spools of super8 film which we supposed would have a message for us or would be him filming us or something important. We had to scrounge around for a super8 projector. We found one but the bulb needed replacing, so we bought one. Finally, we all sat around to see our dad's films. They turned out to be like 3-1/2 hours of thunderstorms! Thank you for the drawings and everything.

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  8. Ooh! Fun with weather..

    I appreciate the time and effort you put into your drawings. They add a special little something to the post.

    Also - i was anticipating another post about the shit geyser across the way from you. Happy to see its just rain.

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  9. Weather PAH ....I only had to walk about 500 yards to me car last night....with every step the rain got harder , what started as a light drizzzle ended in a veritable monsoon....I was drenched...mutter...mutter

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  10. Part 5

    Nancy looked up into the sky and looked for the piece of starlight and saw clouds, a beautiful curve, like a comfortable stomach. Soft and smooth and joyous. The happiness of one who had found starlight amongst friends. Nancy thanked her for the clouds and thought that she saw a smile edging its way against cumulo lips.

    Now go to part 6.

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  11. carmentza: it could have been so much worse, let me tellya. when we cleaned out my father-in-laws' house?....
    claire: you and me both. nobody likes the shit geyser.
    beast: i've lived in the Pacific Northwest all my life. stop whining. suck it up. put on your big girl panties and-no, don't do that.
    molly: dang! all that for a cloud!

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  12. MY PANTS BIG GIRL PANTS ARE WATERPROOF....so PFFFFFT

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  13. where do you get those pics from?

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