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Early Sunday morning we awoke to flashing lights. An amazing lighting storm was blazing over the distant mountains. We watched from about 1:15- 2:45 am.
I’ve never seen a lightning storm so this was a treat for me. It was a hot evening (65 degrees F.). It was 1:15 AM when my husband woke us up to see the sky.
We stood outside watching this fascinating show. Lighting shooting from the sky down to the ground in bright squiggly lines. At times we only saw a glow as the lightning was obscured by clouds.
In the night sky above us, we can clearly see the planet Jupiter, (also the Roman god of sky and thunder).
I notice… and wonder…
As I stood taking in this incredible sight I knew I needed to get my nature journal. I want to record as much as I could so I can remember this experience. In the darkness, I scribbled notes and shapes of the lightning. It stimulated so many questions!
How does lightning work? Why is there no thunder? Is there rain? There are so many strikes- why so many? Oh, I see its expanding! OOh- it’s striking from cloud to cloud! This one looks like it’s over the ocean- what happens when it hits the water? Does it electrocute the animals? How long will this go on?
Created this page in the morning with highlights of the evening. I recorded the data in graphs –visual format to show numbers in an easier-to-understand format.
Adding numbers to my journal
There were so many strikes I decided to record the frequency- how many hits per time interval. I set a 30 second timer on my phone and counted each lighting strike.
The funny thing is that Sunday mornings Nature Journal Club session topic was NUMBERS!! So it was fun to use numbers in as many ways as I could.
I also noticed that the extent of the lightning expanded over time. It spread out horizontally and vertically– it appeared to be moving toward us!
Top half of this page completed during the storm. I added color and did the “I notice Recap” in the morning.
I am reminded of a quote referring to how to deepen your sense of wonder:
“What if I had never seen this before? What if I knew I would never see it again?” Rachel Carson
First page- notes taken in the dark during the lightning watch.
Observe something new today. Dive in wholeheartedly. Notice what you see. Write down all questions that pop into your head without filtering them. Allow yourself to wonder without the need to find the answers right away. Fully enjoy this moment with nature.
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