Saturday, April 04, 2009

Skywatch Saturday: After the Rain

Since Skywatch Friday conflicts with other scheduled posts on this blog, I usually do not participate. Today, though, I have some sky photos left from a walk after yesterday's rain storm. When I looked at radar maps in the late afternoon, the storm seemed to be ending, so I walked down to the nearby park to do a little birdwatching. Apparently I misread the radar because shortly after I arrived, the clouds opened and rain started pouring down. I had worn my rain-proof shell, so I did not get too wet, but the downpour dampened my birding prospects.

Soon enough, the rain stopped, and instead of birds, I started watching the light. When the rain clouds parted, the sky became a mix of grays, whites, and blues – in some cases dramatic and in others subtle. There were, of course, birds at the park; robins and juncos were singing all around me when there was no rain. The usual Canada Geese and Mallards patrolled the waterways, and I saw a Tree Swallow zip past along the river. There were no rainbows that I could see. but I heard of them appearing elsewhere.

Below are a few sky photos from the walk.

Clouds breaking over the river

Dramatic clouds

Sky over willowsThere are more park photos at my Flickr account.