31 Days of Savoring the Sweet Stuff: Day 23- Thunderstorms

this was taken one evening on my way home from work...

For as long as I can remember, I have always loved thunderstorms.  LOVED. THEM.  I am so lucky to live in the midwest where we have a pretty decent thunderstorm season from around March through July.  There is nothing better than the gentle rumble of thunder in the early morning hours, to the winds that roll through the thick air right before a good storm breaks out. Some bring lots of rain, and some just the thunder and lightening...but I love them.  I should clarify that I love to watch them from the safety of my home or somewhere safe.  I get really anxious when I am out in a thunderstorm or can't see the road or have trees falling all around me.  I'm not a fan of that, but if I'm safe somewhere and the people I love are safe too, then bring on the thunder and lightening and rain! (*note: I also am not a fan of mass destruction from storms like what happened in Joplin, Mo! I can do without those mega storms!)

Some of my favorite memories as a child are of watching storms roll in while sitting on my beloved grandmother's porch out in the country.  She would always make us go inside before it got too close, but I loved (and still do) feeling and listening to those first distant rumbles of thunder that gradually become louder as they rolled closer, the stillness of the air right before a big storm, the sudden gusts of wind followed by those first few drops of rain hitting the ground falling harder and eventually fading....and then finally, the different coolness of the air after a storm passed through. There is just something so beautiful and powerful about the magesty of nature that is desplayed through thunderstorms.  

I have long had a hobby of photographing the sky and have so many images captured of different storms, clouds, cloud formations and just your average beautiful sky...but (aside from cirrus clouds of course) thunder storm clouds are my favorite.  Thunderstorms are one of my favorite things in life and I'm so thankful to live in a place where they pass through.