Clearly the weather was turning.  After a day of sun and a completely dry atmosphere, we were being visited once again with an alternate weather system.  Nature is, if nothing else, a clockwork-mechanism.  We were obviously scheduled for yet another storm.  And on it came, the sky gradually becoming more and more dark.

On June 5, when the Transit of Venus occurred, there was a window of opportunity for those souls for whom the rare spectacle meant much.  http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/News/Canada/Saskatchewan/1304131310/ID=2242541826

But for us, not being in possession of either a sun telescope or a pair of special observing eyeglasses, it was a moot occasion.  We saw the photographs of the transit taking place, and it was obviously a special occasion for astronomy buffs, like our older son.

For us, on the other  hand, witnessing another thunderstorm oncoming, with the punctuated streaks of lightning and the responding claps of thunder, that was a spectacle we could appreciate and stand in awe of.  Far more accessible, and immediately engaging us, the phenomenon never fails to amaze and entertain us.

We stood in our backyard watching the approaching storm, listening to the oncoming fury, until the rain became too insistent, then, withdrawing, contented ourselves by removing to the front of the house to watch as our colourful gardens descended into darkness, engulfed by pouring rain.