The bad storm came last night just before sunset, and it started to leave just as the sun was going down.
This resulted in what is easily one of the most breath-taking sunsets I’ve ever witnessed.
Note that young white pine toward the center of the photograph.
This is what happened as the sun went down:
It’s like the pine tree is on fire!
Yesterday was a very strange day.
The mercury was reading into the 90’s before ten o’clock in the morning, and by the afternoon, I saw one bank thermometer read 98 degrees Fahernheit.
Hotter than, as my grandpa would have said, the hubs of hell (whatever that means).
In this part of the world, any heat is almost automatically amplified with high levels of humidity.
So yesterday, the land just appeared to boil.
The air had the feel of an ulcerated, festering wound. The heat was like the infection got worse and worse as the day progressed.
And it boiled and boiled until the clouds drew in upon the sky.
And the wind began to blow.
Just a little breeze at first.
The trees began to quake.
The branches and leaves started swirling through the sky.
It was a good thing I was inside!
The sky blackened darker and darker until it was almost as black as midnight.
And the rain came gushing from the sky.
The thunder was like something out of an ancient myth, like a great roaring demon that sudden been awakened from its lair.
And the lightning tore through the clouds like some ethereal knife.
The storm lasted about 45 minutes,and then it was gone.
But as it left, a cool gentle breeze came flowing in.
I’ve never felt a nicer breeze.
With no power, the house was becoming quite hot, and I was sweating profusely.
It just felt good to feel the cool air on me and watch this amazing sunset, as the water dripped off the trees and the little crickets made noises all around me.
Nature is still more marvelous than anything we’ve been able to contrive.
I’ve never see any human performance that can match a sunset like this one.
We might try, but even the best Hollywood special effects artists couldn’t match this one.
Natural History 