Katherine, who lives on Torch Lake, wrote: The raft blew away, we lost power, it rained horizonally, but then the sun came out.
Lois Dawson wrote that she picked all her raspberries before the worst of it. A big dead ash tree toppled in their woods, and lots of branches came down. No photos. (I have photos. Lois has raspberries.)
This is the spindly tree I had to get off the road before I could get out and about. You would be surprised how difficult it can be to wrestle even a little tree off its chosen resting place. Fortunately I have a low center of gravity. Good leverage.
It was worth the effort to get out, because the light was exceptional. The wind was blowing around so that the sky was full of rain and dark clouds one moment and sun the next. Perfect rainbow weather. The problem was finding the right vantage point. Pesky wire.
I do not have Photoshop. The only way I could get rid of the pesky wire was to crop it out. Pretty, but completely unsatisfactory. I like context for my rainbows.
The rain turned dusty fields and spent orchards into all kinds of golds and russets.
There were more little trees down in the driveway when I got home, including a fragrant cedar. No photos of those–I was busy.
The wind blew all night, and it’s still blowing. This morning we went down to the beach to see what we could see. I captured sand devils chasing each other north along the beach. More were whipping my bare ankles from behind, and it hurt. That was when it dawned on me that this was perhaps not the best weather for the little camera.
It is still blowing, and I’m tired of the sound. Dark clouds blow in and keep moving, right over the drumlins. Patches of blue flash and vanish. The waves toss and roar down on the beach. Everything’s in motion. Time for me to get going too. Kaye Arnold has promised me stories.
Torch Lake Views 
Eddie
October 27, 2010
That is an incredible picture of the lake. Wow!
Gerry
October 27, 2010
Glad you like it. Katherine is quite accomplished. Also quirky. I admire both qualities.
Anna
October 27, 2010
Oh wow, you had some wind, for sure. We had gusty winds for a few days. I really like the first photo…. how very pretty! Also, the rainbow pics are very nice and that is a neat gusty wind-sand devils capture with the last photo!
Gerry
October 27, 2010
We are STILL having gusty winds. I spent the afternoon with a friend up on Bennett Hill Road and the power was an on-again-off-again affair all day. I’m glad you liked Katherine’s image from the north end of Torch Lake. I thought it was very fine. And the best part–that’s exactly what it looks like!
Carsten
October 27, 2010
Thanks for the weather report Gerry. I like the image with the rainbow in full. To me the wire doesnt matter. It looks that way, doesn’t it? In fact all the pictures are good.
Your description almost makes sound here.
9 years ago we moved to escape the sound ( and smoke) from the highway. Instead we got the roaring sound of storm in the wood at special ocations. I like that sound much better.
Gerry
October 27, 2010
I am in favor of realism. However, I am also in favor of pretty.
I saw the fullest, brightest rainbow from inside the hardware store up in Atwood while it was still raining. I would have posted those photos with wires, highway signs and all–but they just weren’t very good. Still, I’ll remember what it was like to see it and ooh and ahh with everyone else who was there.
I grew up in a quiet place, where the loudest sound was the booming of the lake in spring when the ice went out. When we went on trips to visit relatives, we’d stay in motels by the highway, where the sound of traffic kept me awake. I thought it was all very glamorous, this noise of people going places. I loved living in the city. But here I am, back in the woods and loving that too.
Except that I am really, really tired of the sound of the wind just now. It could just hush for awhile.
Cindy Lou
October 27, 2010
Your first and last photos today are incredible! Story time? Horray!
Gerry
October 27, 2010
Glad you liked the pictures–yes it was story time, and we’ve just begun. Kaye and I had a heckuva good time talking local history and the pleasures of genealogical research. We’re going to do it some more, just because we can.
Karma
October 27, 2010
I heard about this storm over at Kathy’s blog too! What a strange weather week it has been. I think your rain has come east, to dump on Massachusetts now. The warmth in the air has been so odd for this time of year.
I love Katherine’s moody shot, and your rainbow of course! Don’t worry about the powerlines – sound like your area should be happy they are still standing!
Gerry
October 27, 2010
Ah well. That was yesterday afternoon, this is now. I gather that power lines are prostrate on the highway all over Central Lake and Ellsworth. I am grateful to have electricity at the Writing Studio and Bait Shop. I had a good dinner, the Duo and Miss Puss have been out for their constitutionals, and we can face whatever the night brings. (We, too, are skeptical of muggy nights in October.)