At two o’clock, a gleaming rampart of hazy thunderheads stood off to the west – not threatening, not imposing, not forbidding, but inspiring, like alabaster cities
, like Camelot. But I was wrong. By 3:30p they swept over us in a windless downpour. By 4:30 it was over. Leaves rain-washed, dripping, heavy with water as I snipped some basil for supper.  

It’s hard to believe on a day like today (headed for 90 degrees), but our average first frost date is only ten days away (September 15) (you can check your own here
).  

Altocumulus spread like fish scales over the sky last night, giving the morning sun a metallic sheen. But now the fish are diving deeper into the blue sky, leaving only bubbles in their wake.