Peter: It is a whole other world taking pics like that during the day. My friend is trying to figure that out although he gets some great cloud formations before and after the storms. Nice work. I hope to see more pics by you. Jojo: I have heard the monsoons can be quite dramatic! I have even seen the storm drains dug all around the outskirts of peoples home but never saw them fill up. I can only imagine that. I have seen lightning from a distance and been very frustrated chasing them because the roads there a long and straight with no way to turn down another for miles to catch up to it..lol Been there done that. Have you ever seen lightning drop from the clouds over the prairies or horizon? It must be majestic! It is nice to meet Peter. It is always nice to see new faces. I would never come there without visiting some very nice people here if the offer is there. Going there to see people I know would be so nice. We would have to visit the Indian Reservations though, Saguaro Cactus Preserve, and look for turquoise jewelry..lol I have danced with the Navaho tribes once before! I hope many others come here with nice pictures. I would of loved to have sene the hail storm ones that some here have experienced! Mike

I do the same thing! I've taken as many as 300 pics before coming to my senses. A few are always delete-able, blurry, etc., but then going through the remaining photos becomes a chore. Once again, Nice Photos! Kt

Thanks, all! Using my old Canon A-1 35mm, I could always double or even triple expose a photo, that is, if the first and second photos didn't capture any lightning. That is what I like about my digital camera, I can take hundreds of photos and they don't cost anything, unlike the 35mm film developing. I learned from my use of the A-1, to not waste film, so if you notice when there is a lightning cloud in the distance, you can count between the 'big' strikes, usually taking between 4 and 12 seconds in between strikes. The reason this happens is that once lightning strikes, it releases the negative charge, and it takes that long to build up again. Some strikes go about every four seconds, and some 12 or even more seconds between strikes. As the storm goes on for a while, the time between strikes will gradually get longer until it stops, but for a while, sometimes up to 30 minutes, but usually less, there is a regular pattern of time between strikes. Once you establish the time between strikes, then take the photo and increase the odds of getting a lightning shot. I set my camera ISO 100 and usually set it anywhere between 2 and 8 seconds, depending on how dark it is outside and how often it lightnings. Use a tripod or a windowpod as I did in both of these photos. I hope I explained this OK and I hope it helps. One last thing, take a LOT of pictures! You may get lucky. Even if you don't or can't establish a pattern, you are more likely to get a strike on film with lots of pictures. Here is some streak lightning. I was counting a pattern of about 10 to 12 seconds between strikes when I took this photo. It only struck four times after I took this photo. Kt

I haven’t grown this cultivar, but have been disappointed in other A. tabernaemontana cultivars because it doesn’t have the foliage texture of A. hubrichtii or cilliata. Since in my garden it has a short bloom, this is a plant that I grow primarily for foliage, though during its bloom period, it is nice. I appreciate the feathery textured mound of foliage provided by A. hubrichtii for contrast during the summer months, and the fall color is outstanding. To my eye, Amsonia like tabernaemontana without the bushy, fine-textured foliage don’t have any summer interest and have far less impact during fall color season. I haven’t had issues growing any of the Amsonia I have tried in my moist but well-drained, acid, fine sandy loam and hubrichtii self-seeds very lightly. I haven’t noticed any seedling from my others. Just be aware that A. hubrichtii takes up a good-sized chunk of garden, a 3.5’-4’ diameter mound for me.