(+4 insets!) (please view large!) :)

I awoke this morning to the sound of...silence outside! The rain has finally stopped! Not that I mind the rain, but too much all at once isn't a good thing and we've certainly had enough!

Stepping outside for my walk, I was about halfway across our driveway when I stopped in my tracks. What was that sound? I looked towards the noise and it dawned on me—our largest seasonal stream had roared to life with the accumulated downpour over the past few days. I was surprised how loud it was, and that meant just one thing: mini waterfalls! Rapids! Bubbles! Churning water! Abstract watery goodness! AHHHHH!!!! I about-faced, scrambled back into the house for my camera and knee pads, and burst back out again, armed and ready for action!

Excited as a kid on the first day of summer vacation, I buzzed across our smaller meadow. Past our well, pump house and cistern, the noise of rushing water grew louder and louder. Finally I arrived at the clamorous stream and watched with big eyes as it boiled down the hill in a mad dash to our pond. It was really amazing to see!

I was soon clicking away and made my way slowly towards the pond. So many interesting pictures to take, what fun! I didn't have my tripod with me so unless I braced my camera against a tree, long exposure-milky-water pictures were out. No worries, I had plenty of cool pictures to take!

I ended up spending an hour along the stream and pond and managed an impressive 300 pictures for perusal when I returned to the house. I was also very pleased to see that all of the tractor work Steve had done to repair our drainage problem was 100% effective and we wouldn't be bothered by any issues for quite a while. YAY STEVE!

Looking through my images, I was delighted to discover lots and lots of neat photos to work on. I had to pick carefully because I couldn't process them all today!

My main image is an abstract and I just couldn't resist making it my picture of the day. There is a kind of ethereal quality to the water that I love. You can see the colors that give away a mottled russet oak leaf under the water on the left side, and on the right a droplet of water pouring off another leaf that is partially exposed. This kind of picture is something you can't really plan for, so discovering it was a real treat for me!

I am also including several more pictures as insets and I had some fun with filters on the bubble shots!

Pam, do you have any seasonal streams on your property? They are certainly a great source of fun for photography. We have two of them but they dry up as soon as the rain stops unless it's a heavy storm that lasts for a while. I think our larger stream, which I photographed, should be active for a little while though, the hill is swollen with water! I'm thinking about you and hope that all is as well as can be for you my dear. Stay warm and dry!