Still leafless, a locust tree eager for summer’s finery dons clouds for a crown.

My Front Yard
​Photo by Tracy Kugler

While I was on hiatus for the latter half of 2018, I was still composing moments here and there. I just didn't have time to prepare them and get them posted. I plan to catch up over the next few weeks with monthly installments, working forward from June.

​June 25, 6:45 a.m.
A surprise shower sprinkles the pavement with Dalmatian spots.

​Pierce Butler Route ​

Horton Park

Horton Park

The graph of temperatures here from late last week through Tuesday morning would look remarkably like the first part of a rollercoaster. Last week was unseasonably warm, with high temperatures in the forties and even fifties. At 6:30 Monday morning it was already 50 degrees, and I eschewed even a fleece pullover for my bike ride into work. We crested the initial rise of the rollercoaster Monday afternoon, with a high approaching 60. Then we hurtled down the steep drop on the other side. By 6:30 Tuesday morning, the temperature was 16 degrees.

Unsurprisingly, the cold front brought a wave of precipitation that started as rain and changed to snow. The resulting icy, crusty conglomeration made for treacherous footing. Sculpted by the wind, it also made interesting stucco-like textures on the sidewalks. For much of our morning walk, I kept my eyes on the ground. But crossing Horton Park, I looked up and paused to watch a cloud blow across the nearly-full bright moon.
​

My back yard

My Front Yard

Above Omaha

On Tuesday evening I was flying back home from a meeting in Omaha. Given the option, I will always take the window seat on a plane. I enjoy the different perspective afforded by being 40,000 feet in the air. I especially love to fly on cloudy days. Even when things seem gloomy from the ground, it's always clear and sunny above the clouds.

This particular flight took off shortly after sunset. There was a full moon, but it was hard to tell from the ground. As we nosed up through the first layer of clouds, I caught occasional glimpses of its orangish glow. Somewhere in the midst of the cloud, we hit just the right angle, with the moon seeming to be only a little higher than the plane. Streaks of gold-tinged moonlight streamed through gaps in the clouds, just like sunbeams sometimes shine in bright lines around the edges of a cloud. I had never seen actual moonbeams before.

Once we were above the clouds, they spread out below us. Now the moon dominated the clear sky, casting milky light across the wooly surface of the clouds. Farther off, a wall of thunderclouds rose above the silvery sea. Every so often, lightning flashed orange bursts through the wall.

As so often happens, I ended up with a stiff neck and a full heart from craning to look through the tiny and awkwardly placed window at the wonders unfolding outside.

Above Minneapolis-St Paul

my back yard

Pierce Butler Route