Saturday, April 3, 2010

Breath-taking scenery...

There have been a few. The most memorable I'd have to say was the birth of my son. The image of his tiny wrinkled face, arm stretched over his head, and one eye closed and one eye opened when he arrived, will be with me for the rest of my life.

Any sunset will make me stop and admire, only to have my straight A student son say, "Mom, it's pollution that makes those colors." Yes, I know, but its still amazing!

I'm also a fan of thunder and lightning, tornadoes, hurricanes. Of course, the damage they do can be horrifying and sad, but it amazes me what mother nature is capable of. A reminder to never cherish material things because you never know when a storm may come and take it away.

Currently, I have to say the most breath-taking scene has to be my home state. We had two days of rain here in Rhode Island and if I didn't see the mall under water, I wouldn't have believed it. The homes and businesses that have been ruined are endless.

Here is a you tube video of the mall. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBdZN3tTo34

6 comments:

  1. Toni,

    Often, I will drive home to TN, the drive will take me 14 hours. My friends ask me why. I do it because it's beautiful, and believe it or not peaceful. Like you, I stare at the sunrise or sunset, and then OMG! it's so beautiful. Nature in and of itself amazes me. As a child in TN, my parents would have us turn off everything electric, and then we would sit and talk,and watch what was happening or if it was evening, we'd sit by candlelight.

    As a child, I thought what..no TV, but now as an adult, I miss it. I sit with my windows open, and stare out into rainstorms thining how lovely, and I know that my family would be doing the same thing if I were in TN.

    The power and beauty of nature can truly be amazing.

    The video of the mall was incredible.

    Angela

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  2. Angela, I was thinking the same thing when I watched Toni's link of the now-underwater stores. The power of Nature is awesome. Toni, your home is on high ground, isn't it?
    Last spring we had lots of snow ready to melt, then got 3 inches of rain. Our driveway flooded and at 4 am my husband and I made desperate cross-country dashes in our vehicles and managed to get out before the runoff thawed the fields and sucked us in. We parked up by the road and wore chest waders to walk in. The water rose to our front steps and stayed there for a week. My Fargo/Moorhead friends can sympathesize sincerely with Rhode Island and other deluged Northeasterners.
    Ana

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  3. Angela,

    I too would rather drive than fly. Where are you living now? TN is great. My sister lives there and I plan on moving there in five years when my husband retires. She'll call me and tell me how "awful" the storms were all week and she wished I was there to enjoy them..lol.

    When it storms here, I unplug everything and sit by the window or on the porch. When my black Lab was alive, he and I used to run from window to window to watch the lightning and rain. People were amazed that he wasn't afaid.

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  4. Ana,

    My house is on the opposite side of the state that was flooded. We got lucky. A few houses across the main road from me had flooded basements, but that was the extent of it.

    The news had mentioned that RI's can't get flood insurance, but you can. Anyone can, through FEMA. It may not be mandatory in certain areas, and your homeowners insurance may not insure you, but you CAN get it. We did and it was only $300 for the year.

    So if you are from Rhode Island, or anywhere else that may not be a flood zone, look into getting it anyway because you never know. The last time RI flooded was over 200 years ago.

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  5. I'm with you on the thunder and lightning. Usually, if a thunderstorm starts, most people head inside out of the elements. My hubby and I curl up in the rockers on our front porch and watch nature's display. There's nothing quite like it.

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  6. I can relate to sunsets, but not to storms, I hate them. Fortunately we don't get many here!

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