Double Rainbows and Deck Chairs
Just made it through the first week of summer, and it’s been pretty amazing.
Over the weekend, Madi and I hiked up the Appalachian Trail to the Rice Fields. The streams are overflowing with cool, crystal-clear water and wildflowers are in full bloom, including my recently discovered favorites–Fire Pinks. The Rhododendrons and Mountain Laurels that make up most of the forests down here are also in bloom and have covered the trails in their pink and white flowers. After last week’s heavy rains, we can’t walk more than a few feet without spotting a toad.
We had the fields to ourselves and snacked on Sun Chips while watching a thunderstorm bring sheets of rain over West Virginia. On the way back down, we passed a bubble of thru-hikers and got to hear their stories. They usually come through this part of Virginia in April, but with the trails closed for so long most of them were only able to start in the last two months.
On Monday, we got caught in a drizzle while running, which led to a double rainbow forming right in front of us. I haven’t seen one in a while, but this one was particularly impressive because it appeared to hover less than twenty feet ahead and after the typical violet, the colors faded back into yellow, green, blue and violet all over again.
The sunsets have been stunning lately, and once the sun goes down I can usually spot a dozen fire flies hanging around, so it’s been fun to follow them around the back yard.
In other good news, Youness was offered an internship this week with a cloud software company, which is awesome! We also got some deck chairs for our porch and have been getting some good use out of them. Lots going on, but all good things!