The Beautiful End to a Hot Summer Day
By Jeff Moffitt
@moffittjc (118365)
Gainesville, Florida
June 2, 2020 12:53pm CST
I had meant to write this post a few days ago, on the Friday evening before my birthday. I had spent the day swimming and tubing on two different rivers with two different groups of friends, to kick off my birthday weekend.
It was a day of heavy rain and thunderstorms in many parts of our local area, but somehow we managed to dodge the storms all day while we were having fun at the rivers and springs. At the end of the day, as we were driving home from swimming at one of the beautiful area springs, I captured this magnificent storm cell as the setting sun shown its light on the clouds. It was a large thunderstorm off in the distance, and we ended up driving through its torrential rain on the way home. But, from a distance, it looked absolutely beautiful.
Don't you admire how something that can look so bad or dangerous from one perspective can look so magnificent and beautiful from a different perspective?
23 people like this
26 responses
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
3 Jun 20
Having to drive through that severe thunderstorm and torrential rain a few minutes after I took the photo almost brought me to tears! lol
2 people like this
@JudyEv (325345)
• Rockingham, Australia
3 Jun 20
@moffittjc Man up, Jeff. Don't be a wimp. That golden cloud is just amazing.
3 people like this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
4 Jun 20
@JudyEv Hey, I made it through that storm, so I'm not a total wimp! haha
2 people like this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
2 Jun 20
Thank you! I always love when I can catch that perfect view of God's beauty out in the world.
2 people like this
@simone10 (54189)
• Louisville, Kentucky
10 Jun 20
@moffittjc That is so true. It's like it was meant to be.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
10 Jun 20
@simone10 It was God showing his presence!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
3 Jun 20
I thought the same thing! If I would have left the springs 10 minutes earlier or later, I may not have seen this magnificent sight!
2 people like this
@Hannihar (129379)
• Israel
3 Jun 20
@moffittjc
Happy Belated Birthday. Sounds like you had a good birthday. Thank you for sharing that picture with us. You are right what you said about the picture you posted with this post.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
4 Jun 20
@Hannihar Thanks Hanni. I try to enjoy my birthdays as much as I can. I have recently discovered that the more birthdays you have, the longer you live! haha
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
3 Jun 20
Thank you Hanni! I had a great birthday!
2 people like this
@Hannihar (129379)
• Israel
3 Jun 20
@moffittjc
You are welcome Jeff and so glad you had a great birthday.
3 people like this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
2 Jun 20
As you can see from the photo, I pulled over to the side of the road to snap the picture. If I wasn't driving, I could have sat there and stared at that beautiful storm cloud for hours!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
2 Jun 20
@CarolDM I have always been that way when it comes to clouds. I could stare at them for hours. One of my favorite things to do as a kid was to lay in the grass by the lake behind our house and just look up at the clouds for hours on end.
2 people like this
@CarolDM (203454)
• Nashville, Tennessee
2 Jun 20
@moffittjc I do this often and understand.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
3 Jun 20
Yes, the way the fading sunlight is reflecting off of the clouds, it truly does look like something is burning off in the distance.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
4 Jun 20
@Shunnan You never saw sunshine reflecting off of a cloud?
1 person likes this
@Shunnan (2106)
•
3 Jun 20
@moffittjc this was very unusual and I never witness yet here.
2 people like this
@Jessicalynnt (50525)
• Centralia, Missouri
5 Jun 20
@moffittjc I missed the beginning of a storm wall this morning, but it was so dark Im not sure it was visible until a few hours east of here
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
5 Jun 20
@Jessicalynnt We had a really bad storm come through early this morning too. It was bad enough that it woke me up at 3:30am.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
3 Jun 20
Thank you! It was even more spectacular seeing it in person!
2 people like this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
3 Jun 20
Thank you! I saw it from both perspectives...the beautiful wonder you see in the photo, and the torrential rain, lightning and thunder as I drove through it a few minutes later.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
3 Jun 20
Thank you! It was even more beautiful in person!
2 people like this
@DocAndersen (54413)
• United States
3 Jun 20
what a great picture - looks like a thunderhead. i love when clouds are lit like that
2 people like this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
3 Jun 20
It was a huge thunderhead! I had to drive through that storm on the way home from the river. It was intense!
2 people like this
@DocAndersen (54413)
• United States
3 Jun 20
@moffittjc i remember those storms from living in Indiana.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
4 Jun 20
@DocAndersen I had to slow down to a crawl on the drive home, as I couldn't see 2 feet in front of me it was raining so hard!
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
2 Jun 20
Thank you! It was pretty fascinating to see from a distance! It wasn't as fun driving through all that torrential rain though!
2 people like this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
2 Jun 20
@Nevena83 Yes, I got lucky to capture such a beautiful moment!
2 people like this
@Nevena83 (65282)
• Serbia
2 Jun 20
@moffittjc But you really caught a wonderful moment.
2 people like this
@Ghrayze1981 (48)
•
3 Jun 20
Though it is dangerous if you think in reality but really amazing on the other hand. Nice shot
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
3 Jun 20
Thank you! I thought it was a beautiful storm, until I had to drive through it a few minutes laster after taking the photo!
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
2 Jun 20
Thank you! I like how I spend my birthday weekends too! haha
Usually I go to New York City every year for my birthday, but that was out of the question this year!
2 people like this
@LovingMyBabies (85127)
• Valdosta, Georgia
2 Jun 20
That is absolutely gorgeous!! 
I do find God's ways to be amazing in that way.
I do find God's ways to be amazing in that way.2 people like this
@Poppylicious (11133)
•
4 Jun 20
That could be a photo taken in England. Darn, now you've ruined my image of Florida being nothing but beaches and swamps!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
4 Jun 20
Well, we are nothing but beaches and swamps, but we also like to entice the Brits into thinking this is a wonderful place, so every now and then we show the world beautiful photos of other stuff and give people false expectations of what Florida is like.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
4 Jun 20
@Poppylicious Doesn't that make you want to plan Your next holiday here?
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
3 Jun 20
Thank you. The view in person was so much better than what the camera captured. We had a really fun day on the river and in the springs. Couldn't have thought of a more fun way to spend my birthday.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
4 Jun 20
@paigea Well, sounds like a good excuse to make new friends! Ones who are close by! haha
1 person likes this
@paigea (35635)
• Canada
3 Jun 20
@moffittjc I would choose that if I had a summer birthday. Though, I would be alone. I can think of 2 friends who would do something like that with me 
and they live far away.
and they live far away.1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
2 Jun 20
Thank you! I always love when the light of the sun reflects off of the clouds.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
2 Jun 20
I definitely was admiring this one too...from afar! It was a pretty bad storm. I had to drive through it as I was heading home from swimming in the springs.
2 people like this
