Fields of...purple

I just returned from spotter class. While I was there, I met the Worth County ARES coordinator, who was very nice, and of course encouraged me to get my radio set up, and promptly asked for my call sign. I am counting on Jay to help me with my radio equipment next weekend. It's funny how hard core Hams really push the radio thing. I don't have any desire to become a hard core Ham, but it is an important tool in my pursuits, so I'll do what needs to be done. With the CW recently dropping off the test, there isn't much preventing me from working on General. I would like to get some use in before attempting it though. I think it will help me a lot with regard to learning all the frequencies, which appear to be a big part of the general test.

Kelly did a terrific job with the class, as I expected he would, shared a lot of captures from the March 1st storm, which were very cool, especially the Enterprise and Americus tornadoes which showed a clear hook echo on radar (very cool -- SUPERCELL!). He also shared with us that after more intense analysis and assessment, the Enterprise Tornado rating is being lifted to an EF4, wow, impressive storm. It was cool to see Kelly get excited during his presentation when he talked about certain severe weather elements. Weather nuts aren't a huge group of people, but we definitely know what we like, and we're fairly easy to spot... (apparently when most people ask about the weather, they don't really want to get into details, who knew?) He was certain to emphasize that although there are some storm chasers in the area (ehem, did I imagine him cutting his eyes at me when he mentioned that...? cough, cough, who me?) that the National Weather Service discourages mobile spotting or storm chasing in the Tallahassee CWA because of the limited visibility and the type of storms we tend to have; it's too easy for a storm to come right up on you before you even realize that it's there. He did say that if you're going to mobile spot despite those warnings, that you should have at least two people for the sake of the extra set of eyes on the sky. He also recommended against chasing hail, but it's not beyond him... lol. Hey, I wonder if Kelly would want to be my chase partner during his off days... I was talking to hubby about my interest in weather last night. It was almost like I had an epiphany. You know, I have had other interests and do enjoy other things, but weather is my passion. I have never had such a strong desire to take in as much as possible. Everything about the weather fascinates me. I love learning about it, soaking up information like a sponge, and it just leaves me thirsty for more. With every bit of training that I experience, I learn something new, hear something I haven't heard before, or something else makes more sense because of other knowledge that I gained along the way. Granted, eventually, I should be able to teach spotter class, but I'll never tire of the knowledge. I can't get over how much I have learned and how much more I want to learn. On the way back is when I shot the picture above. I didn't have to go all the way to Worth County to get this shot though, as this field was about 200 yards from my house. I just hardly ever come home that way, so I had no idea it was there. It was a field covered in purple flowers (some sort of wild flower or weed). Since purple is my favorite color, I had to capture it. Simplistic beauty and country charm. I almost stopped along the way to catch some Wisteria pics too, but didn't see enough contrast with the background to make it worth my while. Purple, what can I say...?

Locally, according to the guys on their AFD: HARD TO BEAT TODAYS WEATHER... BUT WILL MAKE AN ATTEMPT TO DO SO WITH THE FORECAST FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK. LOL... So the weather isn't going to do anything but "improve" from here. (I put improve in quotation marks because good weather tends to be a subjective thing in my opinion... lol) Speaking of "good weather", my chaser friends out of Colorado have more than likely nixed their plains chase, definitely the big trip, might still try a little one... Unfortunately, it's just not the setup that the models had painted early on, and it's become a struggle to justify the expense. Oh well, plenty of severe weather season lies ahead, right? I guess that means that I won't win the "contest"... lol.

My week ahead is swamped with me taking the day off today and then again on Friday and Monday (exciting surprise, anniversary plans), but I'll try to get some little posts in.

Whew, I had a lot to say today, didn't I?
~Dewdrop