Today's Freaky Weather

This morning started out like this . . .

(Shot taken at 9:00 a.m. from my bedroom window.)

. . . turning my world WHITE,

and causing my lilacs to literally KEEL OVER, in a very dramatic fashion:

But this out-of-season heavenly temper tantrum didn't last long.

Thankfully, the sun returned.

Within FOUR HOURS my lilacs looked THIS:


Yep. All those clouds marched right out of the valley,

and here's the view from my porch at 3:00 in the afternoon:

So I hiked the canyon. Naturally.

Wow. The fragrance of the wild sagebrush was simply AMAZING along the side of the trail!
I whiffed and whiffed.

I am hypothesizing that an inauspicious May snowstorm
- like we experienced today -
followed by dazzling blue skies (and some warmth)
has some miraculous ability to cause
the RELEASE
of wild sagebrush's pungent essential oil.

Hmmmmm. I absolutely love it.

From 4 - 6 p.m. our neighborhood ran a campaign to SLOW DOWN traffic.
It's an annual event.

Dozens of families gathered along my street.
We chatted about the storm.
Apparently, many tree branches came down.

One neighbor had an apricot tree chock full of fruit which toppled right over
The roots were completely unearthed,
or should I say, "uprooted"?

Even the kids supported today's Slow Down campaign.
In fact,
the teenager in the chair and his seven younger siblings FOUNDED it!

My worn green chair is empty because I took the photo.
A matter of personal pride: it's my beloved childhood camp chair.

* FINAL SHOT *
the back yard looks lusciously GREEN
after this storm.
(I'm including this for my kids in Nevada.)