Hot & Cooling Off (Original Photography)

Howdy,

The heat wave has passed! The temperature drop was sharp and obvious. Before the storm, the temperatures were above 90ºF with high humidity. Yesterday's storms were intense and long. I woke up at three in the morning to the sound of thunder that never stopped. This morning, however, I awoke to sunshine and 70ºF with low humidity.

This was the view at dusk on Friday, before the storms.

^{Weather Front}

This is actually a multi-shot image. To capture the scene, I set up a tripod and took twelve images in landscape, sweeping about 120º of the scene and stitched them together using the Panorama feature in Photoshop. Each photo was a four-second exposure. Fortunately, it was fairly still, so the plants in the forground didn't blur in the wind and the clouds stayed put.

^{Hot & Bothered}

Earlier in the day, I paid a visit to the bison, who were all standing in a pond to try and cool off. They couldn't escape the flies, though. I haven't seen the cowbirds this year, which is a surprise. They usually follow the bison herd around, eating the insects that plague them.

Triple Falls didn't even provide much relief from Friday's heat. Normally, the mist churned up by the falls evaporates and the temperature can be quite chilly. With humidity so high, the air couldn't take any more moisture.

^{Top Two Tiers}

Still, the waterfall was beautiful and relaxing. The first summer I lived in Mankato, back in 2017, the water at this one dried up completely. The last few years have been very wet. With the recent rainfall and local flooding, Triple Falls is spectacular!

Now that things have cooled down, it may be worth a trip out there to watch the wildlife. It's an inexpensive getaway and, until I find employment, being frugal is a good thing.

^{A Wet Spot to Sit}

Thank you for taking a look! If you enjoy my work, please click the upvote button. Comments are also greatly appreciated.