RAINBOWS

Rainbows bring lots of ooh's and aah's when they appear....not to mention sending folks scurrying for their cameras.  Rainbows are both a meteorological and optical phenomenon that is caused by both reflection and refraction of light in droplets of water that result in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky (hope this doesn't take the fun out of them for you!!).

Here is a fantastic rain bow that we experienced late in the afternoon yesterday.  It is arcing over our little building almost perfectly.

Shortly after appearing, our rain bow became a double rainbow!  If you look closely to the left you can see the faint second rain bow.  I took this photo next to our building....you can see our drain pipes and the top of our 600 gallon water catchment tank...and that closest roof line just behind the tank is the home of our good friends and neighbors, Sam and Sarah Kent.

In 1672 Isaac Newton (wouldn't it have been great to have lunch with him and DaVinci??) divided the color spectrum into the five primary colors of red, yellow, green, blue and violet.   Later on he added orange and indigo....there are many theories as to why....but indigo ....seriously?

The angle of the refracted light that forms the rainbow is always 42 degrees....(don't ask...it just is).   That explains why some folks can see a rain bow perfectly while their neighbor says "what rainbow". 

Especially late in the day one can experience a mono chromatic rainbow...which in this case is dramatically affected by the setting sun.   These are rare...but I am keeping the camera at the ready just in case.

                                  "Rainbow" trout anyone?

Rainbow cake?   (I think I'll pass)

                               A rainbow hairdo.....fancy that.

Rainbows will always keep their fascination...they appear rarely and they are so colorful that despite the technical aspects that describe their existence, they will always be something of a "visual sonnet in the sky" that is sure to bring a smile....yes, even to  curmudgeons!!