storm watching

I took these photos yesterday, about the middle of the afternoon. This is the view out my office window... what I stare at all day, every day. It's definitely not bad to look at on a normal day - a visitor to our office once told me I probably have the best view of any office in the area - but yesterday was especially gorgeous. Watching the storm creep down the mountains and into our little valley was pretty entrancing.

The train also happens to run through our property. I love watching it approach during a storm, with the lights and the horn and the whole storybook bit. I've always had a thing for trains - I want to take a cross country trip on a train one day... across Siberia. Seriously.

I've developed an affinity for the snow and the cold over the last few years... when I was young, I loved the spring and summer, and so naturally I hated the fall and winter. But recently, I've felt exactly the opposite. I don't exactly hate the warmer months, but I do almost dread their return the way most people dread the colder half of the year. I don't know why it changed, or even when really, but I've found that I love the winter.

The photos directly above and below this paragraph were taken after work, on my way out to my truck. It didn't snow in the valley - it rained, which turned the snow from the previous night/day into slush.

This is the plant, and my beater truck. The plant is the tallest building in Tooele, and that truck is pretty hard to miss too...

This last photo I took today. For some reason, there is a huge flock of sparrows that frequent our parking lot all day, every day. Sometimes there are hundreds out there, covering the ground, the cars, the rocks, the trees, everything. I'm not sure if they're attracted to the fishy smell of the factory, thinking they might get some dinner, or if it's something else, but I love it. Sparrows are definitely my favorite birds. My first tattoos are going to be of sparrows, either on my wrist or shoulders (or both).

As you can see, the weather has been pretty gloomy here over the last few days. It's supposed to storm again tomorrow, and I'm actually excited about it. I wish it would storm more. I think I want to move to Washington or Oregon, where it's gloomy and overcast all the time... It's not that I'm all gloom and doom, mind you, I just love the rain and snow and storms. I feel strangely at peace during a storm, and moments of peace are rare for me these days.