When I arrived at the parking lot this Tuesday evening I was a little hesitant about getting on the path. On the drive over I could see the west turning dark and the wind picking up. It was kind of exciting so I said the heck with it, and threw on my hooded sweatshirt in case it rained. As I hit the trail the storm was literally on the edge of the park as there was still a bit of clear blue sky above.
By the time I got the ball field on the west side the wind was whipping the trees around pretty bad. I then heard what I thought was a close crack of lightning but realized was a tree top snapping in the wind. I started to wonder if this was such a good idea.
There were still some other people out on the trail and I hadn't heard any sirens yet so I kept going. The storm rolled through surprisingly quietly with the exception of very strong winds and moderate rain. I did manage to spot a couple of deer on the north side but didn't stop long to watch them. By the time I was coming back around to the south side, the sky was changing every minute or so.
I was shocked to see the sun pop out again in the west and it helped to show how tumultuous the sky had become. I was amazed at how fast the sky continued to change as I snapped this next pic only four minutes after the previous one.
As the trail continued to turn I noticed a really bright rainbow in the south. If you look closely you can see a second, more faint one to the right.
When I got to the mouth of Shingle Creek the dark skies had moved to the east and the setting sun was making the greenery appear just a bit more dark and vivid green. Only a few minutes later the winds subsided and the sky again morphed into a "muted gold" tone that cast itself onto the now quiet and still waters.
As I headed back to the parking lot the sky set on fire with a spectacular yellow orange and purple sunset.
Sorry about the power lines in this last shot, it's just part of the park.
Also I think I broke my record here for the most pictures in any one post.
There were just so many variations in lighting in this one visit! Interestingly enough, I didn't color correct any of these pics before posting, they're all in raw form directly off my camera.
It's been nice to be able to visit the park more frequently now that it's staying lighter all the time. There were no sunsets tonight though as it was very overcast and grey. I really hadn't seen much by the time I'd crossed the north side except for a lot of seeded out Dandelions. It's amazing how fast they cycle through from flower to seed. No wonder they spread so easily. I did see a few deer near the houses on the northeast side but I had a hard time capturing any decent photos. 
They'd only pop their heads up periodically to see what I was up to before looking for more food. When I got the south side I noticed the first Great Blue Heron of the season. In fact there was an Egret inching up on him slowly. It was an interesting site as I've rarely seen these two large birds close together like that.
