Head in the Clouds

Yeah, I'm cheatin'.  I'm using the pics I took yesterday while watering the plants for today's post.  When it's still 100 at 8 p.m. in SW Ohio, that's way too hot for me to be out doin' anything.

But, last night's pictures were so completely serendipitous, surprising, and fun that I have to share them with y'all.  The clouds were amazing enough, but then, the added surprises in the back yard practically had me singing one of the talented Billy Joel's songs (I Go To Extremes).

Not that I have to be at one extreme or another, but I do tend to find it happening a lot.

Last night is a great example.  I hadn't planned to take any pictures, but as I watered the plants and looked up, I saw the beautiful cloud formations and colors.

Of course I went inside and grabbed the camera to try to capture some of the texture and colors I was seeing.

I took several shots, then had to go back and check on the plants I'd left the hose on, only to look down and see this little guy.  Maybe he's not that big of a deal to you, but this is the first time I've snapped a grasshopper!  And gee, let's see . . . I went from looking at the expanse of the multi-colored clouds in the sky down to the little green grasshopper resting on green leaves.

Of course, I had to look back up, just to see what the clouds looked like "now."  Oh, so very glad I did.

That pink hue was pretty out in the front yard . . .

And a different kind of pretty in another direction in the back yard.  Yes, I was facing opposite directions when taking two of the previous shots.  I didn't realize that until now (hadn't thought about it until now, either!).

Then it was back to the plants, and checking on the mandevilla I'd just put in the ground last week. It seems to be doing very well, even with the extreme heat.  Once again though, I went from looking up, to looking down.

If you haven't noticed, I couldn't keep myself from looking up at the clouds every few minutes!  They were mesmerizing me with the light/shadow and changing colors.

 But neither could I help looking down at the plants (it's hard NOT to look at them when you're watering them).  I'd noticed these clematis bloom remains a couple of days ago, and thought they were interesting to look at.  Now I'm having a hard time deciding whether I like the bloom with the petals or without the petals better!

Not only was it an evening with my head in the clouds (at least watching them), but I think I was suffering from a case of temporary Adult Attention Deficit Disorder . . .  but then again, if I got pictures like these, was it really suffering, or being blessed with the opportunity to see a variety of subjects and take advantage of it?  I'm going with the blessing - there's enough suffering in the world that I can't do anything about.  I can accept this blessing and be thankful for it though!