The Quest Continues...

Well, Subtropical Storm Laura is persisting in making her way into the north Atlantic Ocean. She was trying all day yesterday to go tropical, but it is doubtful that she will become tropical in the cold environment she has now entered. Looks like she will only amount to a sub-storm, and most likely, she will soon be forgotten as the nothing storm. With much of the country still struggling to overcome all sorts of storms (not just those occurring in nature), Laura, the subtropical fish, offers us a collective sigh of relief.

Yesterday, I had the wonderful pleasure of seeing a sun dog as I was leaving the office. It was a brilliant one initially but quickly faded into nothingness as the sun dipped lower into the horizon, and I watched as it slowly drifted away.The coolest part, in my opinion, was that you could almost make out the faint halo in the area just below the sun dog. Sun dogs are amazingly beautiful, and I am always amazed to see them, but I was really amazed when I saw my first (and only... so far) complete solar halo, which wasn't yesterday. It was AMAZING.

Speaking of amazing natural occurrences, my wonderful gtb, my fabulous bf (that's the same person, in case you were confused) and I are planning a trip this weekend to visit 8, well, 9 waterfalls in north Georgia for consideration as the perfect spot for our nuptials. As I posted, back in August... we were looking for ideas for our ideal wedding spot. We have gotten loads of incredible suggestions from so many of our dear friends and family members. This weekend, we will visit 9 of the many spots that we found through those suggestions and our own research. We will visit waterfalls in north Georgia, north Alabama and southwest North Carolina until we find THE PERFECT SPOT. I am certain that we'll know it instantly when we see it, and we are holding out for "the feeling". In the meantime, it has been wonderful sharing thoughts and ideas with my wonderful gtb about the trip, plotting our route and narrowing down the search. At this point, all we know for certain is that we want a beautiful waterfall, and we want it to be one that we can get close to... We are looking at the following:

• Amicalola Falls - Thanks, JJ!
• The Falls on Ward Creek near Justus Gap... unless someone can tell me how to get there...
• Minnehaha Falls - Thanks, gtb's "sister"!
• Duke's Creek
• Blue Hole/High Shoals Falls
• Gurley Falls
• Helton Creek Falls - Thanks, my dear Winder friend!
• DeSoto Falls (Georgia) - Thanks, Meso Mike!

Looks like a full trip, huh? 8 (well, technically 9) waterfalls in two days. I'll keep you posted, and... of course, I should be able to offer a full photographic study. It should be an exciting and action packed weekend! Stay tuned!

Have an incredibly wonderful day!
~Dewdrop

P.S. 11AM Update... looks like I spoke too soon...

1100 AM AST TUE SEP 30 2008

WHILE SOMEWHAT OF A PARADOX...LAURA BECOMES TROPICAL...BUT NOT FOR LONG...

While I was twisting....

Another weekend... another weather strike, especially considering the weatherless void I find myself engulfed in... please don't read that as Gulf activity, though plenty of tropical moisture has been feeding across the southern peninsula of Florida, no doubt, keeping Jeff very busy shooting the torrential and persistent rain down there. I do actually see the moisture in the GOM taking on a low presentation in the satellite image, but it looks to be exceptionally sheared, which should destroy any chance at development. So, what happened over the weekend while I was sleeping? Tropical Storm Kyle quickly raced up the Atlantic Ocean, became a hurricane and slammed into Nova Scotia as a minimal hurricane and quickly became extratropical. New England is all wet. This morning, we see the naming of Subtropical Storm Laura. Though she has gotten her start as a subtropical system, she appears to be gradually gaining tropical characteristics throughout the morning, and she could be reclassified as a tropical storm during the course of the day. No big worries... looks like Laura's destined to be a fish storm.

So, what was I doing (since I obviously was not paying any attention to the weather)? Well, my wonderful gtb and I went with his kids to an exhibit of large excavation equipment... bulldozers, backhoes and cement trucks... oh my. I saw it mostly as a photo op. You know me. Here are some shots from there.We also played a little Twister... Thanks to Christine for awarding my blog with the Grrrreat Work Award!!I pay it forward to my entire blogroll! :O) Cheating... I know. Check them all out. I wouldn't have them on the list if they weren't GRRREAT! Thanks, Christine!

Have a lovely day!!!
~Dewdrop