I love the smell of rain. I love the way the air smells just before it rains and I love the way it smells just after it rains. These are three rather different scents, but all three fresh and clean. It has been raining off an on all day - so that scent of rain is thick in the air. Standing in the parking lot of Lowe's, I was looking up at huge swollen rain clouds. But these clouds were low -and heavy, hanging just above our heads, so that the sun-filled blue sky peeked through from above. These big, grumpy, gray clouds were just passing through. No lingering rains - but instead alternating showers with rays of sunshine. Earlier it was raining while the sun was shining. This was the kind of day that creates rainbows and prisms in raindrops.

Today was one of those rare and wonderful days when the weather is like a moving painting across the sky.The clouds were so thick and so low that they bled down to the horizon and started to resemble great mountains in the distance. There was a spot to the east where the clouds parted, and the light of the sun made the uppermost curves sparkle like snowcaps. To the west, there was another break in the clouds revealing the late afternoon sun. It was bright still - a wonderful contrast of light to the dark underbelly of the still swollen rain clouds. Pale gray deepened into a dark almost charcoal. Finally, as the sun started to set, the palest parts of the clouds turned to pink and orange, while the grayest parts bled purple. As the whole mass moved east, the colors streaked and pulled across the sky. It was beautiful and awesome and majestic - watching the sky today made me feel both lucky and small all at the same time. I truly love being able to watch nature play across the sky.