A Big Dog and a Bigger Hurricane

Hawken hangs around with me in the pinkish evening light.
Hawken hangs around with me in the pinkish evening light.
Hawken follows me all over the yard, and never seems to get bored.
Hawken follows me all over the yard, and never seems to get bored.

News-followers might recall that the last couple of days have been dominated by news of Hurricane Harvey, an originally uninteresting tropical depression that ended up making landfall at Category 4 near Corpus Christi, Texas. As a possible consequence, our skies the last couple of nights have been a little more turbulent and a little more beautiful.

After work last night, I took Hawken, our eight-month-old Irish Wolfhound, for his evening walk. It was cooler than August evenings usually are around here, and between the green pasture turning gold and a particularly synergistic confluence of music on my iPod, I decided to take him around the perimeter a second time.

Abby and I think, probably correctly, that Hawken is a beautiful and majestic dog.
Abby and I think, probably correctly, that Hawken is a beautiful and majestic dog.

After washing out his water bowl and giving him a big drink, I decided he needed to be photographed.  Though he is 130 pounds of puppy, he believes himself to be a lapdog and wants to be constantly in contact with us, so it is difficult to photograph him without assistance. Still, I found a way, though it involved at least one giant swath of dog saliva on my camera.

The light takes on a decidedly pinkish hue as evening progresses last night. I made this with my 35mm f/1.8, a lens I recommend over and over for its ability to make this kind of subtle, elegant image.
The light takes on a decidedly pinkish hue as evening progresses last night. I made this with my 35mm f/1.8, a lens I recommend over and over for its ability to make this kind of subtle, elegant image.
This was the stormy evening sky produced by Hurricane Gustav eight years ago.
This was the stormy evening sky produced by Hurricane Gustav eight years ago.

As the evening matured, I paused to watch the sky. It reminded me of the sky we saw here in Oklahoma in 2008 as Hurricane Gustav made landfall and skirted past us to the east.

I’m not saying there is a hurricane over us, and it is not forecast to come this way, but the atmosphere is all connected, and the sky often tells me about wildness in the sky far away.

This was the sky as it crescendoed last night. Though we often have good sunset here, this particular sky has a very tropical look to it.
This was the sky as it crescendoed last night. Though we often have good sunset here, this particular sky has a very tropical look to it.

2 Comments

  1. I agree about the 35mm lens. I saw some fantastic skies over Ada in the brief time I was there.

  2. Wow that sky! As I mentioned during the eclipse, that’s God saying, “Hey you guys, watch this”. Hurricanes are God saying, “Hold my beer”.

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