The Windows of Heaven

Much of the west has been in a drought for the last several years. Last Sunday, Fast Sunday, many Stakes in California (and other western states) participated in a special fast for rain. Since I was there I, too, participated in that fast.

I attended church with Rebekah and family. The adult Sunday school (Gospel Doctrine) teacher, Bro. Veater, told us a story that I shared in Primary sharing time today. One of his coworkers is a very devout Baptist and they frequently discuss religion.  Around Wednesday, prior to Fast Sunday this Baptist coworker asked Bro Veater if is he was going to participate in the special fast for rain. For a minute Bro Veater was confused and then said , "Yes! (But how did you know?)" As they talked about the special fast for rain it came out that many congregations, of various denominations, were joining in the fast.

Thankfully, it started raining Sunday morning and we've been treated to the *Pineapple Express* ever since.

This is a wonderful testimony to me that our Heavenly Father loves ALL OF HIS CHILDREN and he will answer their righteous petition.

Spider Wars

Yesterday dawned with the smell of rain in the air! Ahh... I love that smell. I was so pleased, and GRATEFUL, when it started raining just a little while later! I threw open all the windows that I'd closed at 5:30 am and let in that wonderful, damp, cool air. Have I mentioned I love the rain? Especially in the summer?

Early afternoon we needed to take Ashton to her piano lessons up in American Fork so I started closing the ground floor window to a safe/locked position. That was when I spied this...

OK... I'm not a scaredy-cat where spiders or insects are concerned so I find this kind of stuff very interesting! I had no idea this kind of thing could happen in the spider kingdom...



Wouldn't all spiders be impervious to sticky webs? Or is it kind of like germs and antibodies, you are only good with your own germs?

The funny/interesting part is...

THE LITTLE SPIDER IS WHOOPIN' ON THE BIG SPIDER. I could see her/him wrapping up that big dude.



It's the kind of thing I would have stayed and watched if I hadn't just been walking out of the house.

So?? How did it end? I have to admit that I just stopped typing this post and went outside to see if I could determine the outcome!

Yep, that big dude is all curled up and desiccated in the corner of the web AND there are random spider leg in the web... kind of like a warning to any other marauding spiders-

PRIVATE PROPERTY-

Violators will be eaten!

361- Sparkle Tree

We had snow and rain yesterday and then it froze. When I opened my curtains this morning this is what I saw! What a beautiful sight. You just can't top nature for wonder and beauty.

356- Flash-Back to the Storm of Aught-Three!

Would you like to hear a fun story?

All of the flooding in California has me reminiscing. We lived for 23 years in the Mojave Desert 60 miles north of Los Angeles in an area called the Antelope Valley: Palmdale, Lancaster, Quartz Hill, Littlerock, and environs. The AV boasted several things:

• The Antelope Valley Wind Festival- January 1st to December 31 (no joke!  it always blew)
• 350 Sunny days a year
• Insignificant rainfall
• Poor flood control
• Flash floods
• Roads buried under torrents of rivers that were dry 99% of the time
• Fastest growing city in the US for most of the 80's and early 90's
• You get the picture...

So being inventive, and somewhat zany, Desert Rats one of the things the kids and I used to like to do when we had a big rain was pile into the van and drive around town to see where Palmdale was flooded this time. One of our favorite spots was just north of us about a mile. We traversed this road daily because that is where the kids went to Wildflower School and I also worked. Just north of the school there was a S-E-R-I-O-S low spot just before 35th East intersected Palmdale Blvd. even minor rainstorms would flood that area.

I more that once greeted a very wet and soggy pedestrian (at WF front desk) who'd literally flooded their car and swam/waded out and back to the school to call for help. (I even knew a couple, much to their embarrassment.)

Because Palmdale grew too fast it took a while for them to make all of the necessary adjustments for flood control. One thing they did was make a huge culvert that took the water under Palmdale Blvd to flood 35th on the other side... it turned the residential street into a river for a quarter of a mile until it ran into the desert again, but saved Palmdale Blvd.

In one of our El Niño years (Spanish for The Niño) , February 2003 to be exact this *idiot smart motorist*, who, of course, knows better than the street crews that the road isn't actually closed...

"Look I can see that berm of dirt that runs east of the road... I'll just drive on it!"


(NOTICE THOSE FUNNY TREES IN THE BACKGROUND?  JOSHUA TREES... COOLEST TREES EVER!)

The kids and burst into hysterical laughter at this one. That *smart-motorist* drove right into the 6 foot deep culvert!  But I did admire his ingenuity of climbing out through the sunroof!


(BETTER NOT TRY THAT BERM NEXT TIME... OBEY THOSE ROAD CLOSED SIGNS!)

312- Raindrops

I was a perfect, grey, rainy day... and I love it!

279- Raindrops on Roses

That dreaded day came... when I arrived at the Temple this morning they were removing the beautiful summer planting to replace them with sweet little primroses.

One of the things that doesn't get removed are the pink rose hedges that boarder the sidewalks. As I was leaving this afternoon between rainstorms I saw this...



Immediately the words from These Are a Few of My Favorite Things


Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things...

When the dog bites
When the bee stings
When I'm feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don't feel so bad.

166- Barking Dogs!

The printers, Copies Plus Printing Inc, here in Springville did an awesome job with the announcements! I took the files on a zip drive yesterday, looked at a proof this morning and at 3 pm got a call telling me they were finished and ready to be picked up!! WOW!

So Gordon and I stuffed envelopes (addressed yesterday) and I set out to deliver the ones here in our ward... on foot! I got organized the invitations by street, put them into my funny little tote along with my Sonic cup full of ice water, my roll of Scotch Tape and was off! We have a long skinny ward so a walk up and down every street is about 3.5 miles (excluding the *way up the hill parts). I should have put on my tennie-runners instead of my Crocs. Boy my dogs are barking!



After walking the flat part of the ward I came back home and asked Gordon to drive me to the *way up the hill* portions parts. I just wasn't into that much exertion this day! Good thing too... just as I was delivering the last 3 houses we got a good thundershower!

163- Rainy Day

I just love rainy days! After living in Palmdale for 23 years I don't think I could ever get tired of rainy days. I call them my wonderful grey days!

I love the way the clouds hang in around the mountains here. I played with some of Jerry's new textures- doesn't this look like it came right out of an Indiana Jones movie?






The sun did come out for a little while this afternoon and the birds were singing their happy-little-birdie-songs. I love to hear it!

046- Grapevine Raindrop

We had another of those wonderful, grey, rain-days today! There is just something soothing about the rain. I ventured out with my camera, sheltering the lens so I didn't end up with water spots. I'm not sure I will ever get tired of the wonderful upside-down magnified image in raindrops.


FONT- Albemarle Swash, ACTION- DPMoms Perfect Workflow, BRUSH- RhonnaFarrer_2ps_SnapShot_Horizontal6, JasonGaylor Valentine, TEXTURE- DarkWorld-4

Then this evening Kevin, Suzi and Ethan joined us for dinner. It is so nice to have family close.

037- Rain Drops

I woke up this morning to a some very grey light filtering in through the blinds and curtains. When I peeked out I found that it was raining. I just love the rain! As soon as I opened the front blinds I saw my photo of the day! My Japanese Maple sits just outside and was covered with thousands of rain drops- what a beautiful sight!


FONT- Albemarle Swash, ACTION- DPMoms Perfect Workflow, BRUSH- RhonnaFarrer_2ps_SnapShot_Horizontal6 TEXTURE- SM262010-3

The other thing I found today is the texture I used. It is from Jerry Jones AKA Ghostbones AKA SkeletalMess. What a talented and generous guy.

My other fun today (and it is just early afternoon)- we had *clean the church* duty again. Since I've been keeping my photo journal AKA Project 365 I can tell you that we did this almost exactly a year ago.

226- Thunder in the Distance

Earlier today I was lying down (hmmm, been to the dentist... can't like it!) and I could hear the thunder in the distance. I've always loved thunder, lightning, and rain storms... call me silly, but there you are. Perhaps if I'd grown up on the East Coast, say Virginia, I would have a different and more scared opinion... but I grew up in the mountains where I could safely sit back and watch the show.



I've thought about that phrase "Thunder in the Distance" and I wonder how many times we might respond like a scared child afraid of the coming storm. Recently I talked with a friend whose had her share of problems and she speculated that we get ourselves too worked up about all the things that could go wrong (hey, we've both been there and things CAN go terribly wrong)! I don't think I have an answer for that. On the one hand I think that the trauma must come out... I just can't keep it bottled up inside. I get all my crying done in private and then can face the problem mostly tear-free. On the other hand (I also have 5 fingers), I ask, "Do I just get myself worked up needlessly?"

The thing that I DO KNOW is that the Lord is with me every step of the way. I don't have to go it alone or comfortless. I know that I can face anything with the Lord Jesus Christ as my Saviour AND Friend.

What are your thoughts...

168- Rainbow

6:21pm
I looked out my wonderful *playroom* window and saw my neighbor's little 6-year old granddaughters playing in my puddle! (I'm going to be so sad when the city fixes this section of road and my *Lake Lewis* is gone!) I ran out with my camera in hand... and, of course, they were willing subjects for my photo-op.



6:35pm
I've finished mending a bag for *grandma*-neighbor and we walked out the front door so I can get shots of the monsoonal rain. What a beautiful sight. (I haven't had to run my sprinklers in over a week!!)



6:37pm
I dash to our bedroom window and take the screen out so I can get shots of our beautiful, vibrant, Hobble Creek double rainbow.



FONTS- Problem Secretary, CK Cursive, BRUSH- KPertiet_LedgerFrames, (A-2D)_Lomo_V2

165- Thundershowers

We are having an interesting spring here in Utah. In the five springs we've spent here this is the first one like this. I feel like I am on the east coast! Every day we end up with thundershowers in the afternoon.



I cornered a couple of Springville old-timers and asked them if this was *normal* weather for June. They assure me that it is. I guess after 23 years in the Mojave desert and decades of drought I just don't recognize a *real* spring!

Each day I wake up to partly cloudy skies and by afternoon the thunder clouds have started to gather. I can hear the timpani drums starting to warm up; soon the cymbals join in and it usually ends with cracking-cannon fire (You know that kind of thunder? The kind that startles you with the sheer decibel force!) We've had hail, rain that blows sideways and UP and of course, just the gentle piccolo of the showers.

What a treat... especially for my garden!

144- Rain, Beautiful Rain

This is our 3rd Memorial Day weekend in a row that we've had cool and rainy weather (in 2007 we even had a freeze warning and I had to cover my tomatoes!)

THIS IS NOT A COMPLAINT! I love the rain! (It's just an interesting observation!)

Today after choir practice I notice my ivy was all shiny, clean and covered with raindrops... PHOTO OP!

I just love the look of raindrops on ... well, just about anything! This ivy meets me at my front door and in the winter it kindly sacrifices itself as deer fodder.



By now, you all know that one of my favorite flowers is the Gerbera daisy! These lovelies wait for me on my new deck... ahh, I love their colors and happy little faces!



And let's hear a big shout out for my 300th post!

099- Rain, Glorious Rain

Have you ever tried to get a photo of rain? Yeah, it is even harder than snow!

I was out in the street... IN THE RAIN [in my pajamas] trying to get just that right photo... but no luck this time. The closest I could get was the rain falling in the ginormous puddle in front of my house... but even that isn't what I wanted.



I just love the rain. I suppose if I had to work out in it, I might not like it, but I don't so I do!! ;)

I love the sound of the rain pattering [or hammering] down on the roof and windows. I love the clean, fresh smell that comes with a good rain [particularly a summer rain] storm. I am so grateful for the needed moisture [too many drought years for this girl]. I love the wonderful grey skies that come with rain.



I ventured out again after the rain abated and got some shots of the rain drops still clinging to the flowers and trees [but I have to be quick with the wind blowing they won't stay for long!]



I love to remember the little rhyme from primary grades at school, April showers bring May flowers. I can hardly wait for next part of that rhyme.