October surprise

The phrase 'October surprise' has been used in the US to mean some news item that isso influential that voters will alter the way they intend to vote (in early November).  I don't talk much about politics here - there are plenty of places one can find that sort of talk - but I like the expression.

We had a big thunderstorm move through.  Thunder, lightning and even some hail.  This is quite unusual for October, but it's kind of welcome because it means the air is warm enough to create a large local storm.  We take the good with the bad!  Both my boys were on the front steps enjoying that warm air.

F Number	5.5
Lens ID	-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	34.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 68.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/20
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	400
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Blessed rain

Here in Schenectady county, we are merely abnormally dry.  That's the official word from the weather people.  It seems as though we haven't had any rain for a month, but the climatology report shows we had a total of 0.14 inches of rain this month (compared to 1.72 inches expected).  At any rate, it rained this morning - for a good 20 minutes.  I can't say that this will alleviate our dryness, but it was very welcome.

Lens	Minolta MD 50mm f1.4 (100mm effective)
F Number	4.0
Focal Length	50.0 mm
Exposure Time	1/60
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	100
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Bees in the rain

This is at an outbuilding at a friend's place.  The bees - we call these yellow jackets - have built their nest right up against the glass, and it was raining so they all huddled round the back.  I was safe and dry inside and could not resist taking their portrait.

F Number	5.6
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/30
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	400
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	On, Red-eye reduction

Irene

The big news this weekend here was Hurricane Irene.  It tracked up the East Coast of the US, hitting first on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, then glanced out to sea before coming ashore again over New Jersey..  There was pretty severe flooding downstate.

Lots of rain up here; hopefully the photo shows it OK.  We have localised flooding - low lying underpasses and that sort of thing are impassable.  The wind was strongest on the back side; some trees uprooted and power lines taken down.  There is a flood warning for the Mohawk River down at the Stockade; people are talking about levels not seen since 1912, which would be some 20 feet above the normal level.  I'm hoping those estimates are incorrect.  Will let you know tomorrow.

F Number	5.6
Lens ID	-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/100
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	400
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

April showers

People normally complain about the number of rainy days we see, but the recent near miss snow storm has people grateful that it's rain and not snow!

This is at the corner of Brandywine Avenue (on the left) and Albany Street (running across the photo left to right).

F Number	5.5
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	34.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 68.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/80
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	100
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Autumn rain?

It's been raining continuously for over 30 hours. After the long dry spell, it's impossible not to think that the autumn rain has begun. The outside temperature is 64F / 18C and I had to close some of the house windows last night to keep out the chill.

Of course we still have another few weeks of summer, but this view from inside the car is a reminder of the next season on the menu.

The National Weather service predicts a 100% chance of rain today. I won't be taking the motorcycle to work!

Rainy iris

The temperatures dropped to near freezing for the past 2 nights, and fortunately all the flowers here in the city made it OK. The orchards were burning smudge pots and even had helicopters fly overhead to stir the sir enough to keep the very cold off of the trees!

I had to reach through the fence to take this photo, and didn't notice until this very minute that my sleeve is in the way. Sorry!

Autumn is here

Went to Union College to see an exhibit called North By Northeast (more tomorrow) and it was such a typical autumn day that I took Autumn's photograph!

Storm's aftermath

A storm rolled through on Thursday (no surprises there!) and so much rain fell so quickly that the rain covered the street from curb to curb. That's a little unusual, but only a little: there are no drains on our short street. The water needs to flow down to State Street (at the far end of this photo.)

The amazing thing is that we had hail and torrential rain and ten minutes later the sun was shining again.

Leaves and rain

Taken at the end of my driveway. It was raining; enough that there was a current carrying leaf litter down the street. It caught my eye for some reason and here it is, a memory from my childhood schoolboy, walking to school in October.

Thunderstorm

Summer is the season of thunderstorms.

This is a photograph of the street in front of my house. A moment before this was taken, hail was falling, but by the time I got the camera out it had stopped.

Luckily though, the sun was positioned just right to create a faint rainbow right in my field of view, so this frame has heavy raindrops superimposed on a rainbow with an asphalt background.

We needed the rain

It's been strangely dry this spring, but rain will eventually fall. I tried and tried to get a representative photograph, but the lens kept getting wet. This was the best of the lot; I liked the effect on the children walking to school. It's almost as if they're dissolving in the rain.