Summer Gone By

I've been gone for a while.  The summer found me working and leaving on weekends to visit my kids and grandkids.  That doesn't mean I haven't been thinking of all of you and reading your wonderful blogs.  That also doesn't mean I haven't been taking photos and thinking of blog posts to write.  It just seems that I never got around to actually getting onto the computer and posting all of my thoughts.  


We had some exciting but scary things happen here in northern Virginia with the earthquake that happened in August.  I work on the fourth floor of a building at the Washington Navy Yard.  When the earthquake first started, I thought I heard the wind fiercely blowing outside and then felt the building actually sway back and and forth.  My mind said wow, that's a strong wind!!  When I tried to decipher what I was feeling and hearing, I looked up and saw the sun and thought how odd.  Then the entire building began shaking, lights were swaying back and forth, and plaster dust was seeping out of the cracks.  Alarms came on and people started to panic.  It wasn't until the building was evacuated that I actually learned what had happened.  An earthquake -- in Virginia!!  Wow.  That was plenty enough excitement over that, thank you!  


Once the earthquake ended, we got hit with the remnants of Hurricane Irene.  We had wind and a lot of rain.  Luckily, I never lost power up here; but lots of people that I know did lose power for days.  My daughter in NC lost a huge pine tree, which thankfully missed the house and their fence.  All it did was make a huge mess, but messes can be cleaned up.  And now it seems like all we've had for the last few weeks is rain, rain, and more rain.  On the bright side, I can feel and smell autumn in the air.  And I'm happy!!  I LOVE autumn.  My friend Lynn at Raspberry Corner asked what happened to summer.  I said I kicked her out for staying too long and told her she had to leave because my friend Autumn was on her way.  


I took these photos of the clouds the night before the storm hit here.  The clouds were so beautiful.  They looked as if someone had painted them in the sky.  

The leaves haven't started to change here yet.  It's been plenty warm and humid.  This weekend, though, the temps are in the 50s and I can feel her on the way.  More to come, my friends.  We have some catching up to do, and I want to share some photos with you.  Thank you so much for reading and stopping by.