Liquid Sunshine in Florida

We may be the Sunshine State but this summer has been extra rainy in central Florida. One of the nice perks about the rain is that often times it doesn't mean the sun stops shining and we end up with some beautiful rainbows. The climate has always been Florida's most important natural resources, which is reflected in its official nickname, the "Sunshine State." Florida is famous for it's generally warm climate. The climate of Florida is tempered somewhat by the fact that no part of the state is very distant from the ocean.

This is a shot of a splendid double rainbow that I was able to view from my front porch. I wonder if the Rainbow River got its name from the way it sparkled with rainbows like this overhead. The opposite of sparkling rainbows, lightening is another site that is often seen in Florida skies. Florida receives the highest density of lightning strikes within the United States. The corridor from Tampa Bay, Florida to Titusville, Florida is referred to as "lightning alley", since this area has the highest amount of lightning per year in the United States.  Several deaths per year are blamed on lightning, making lightning one of the deadliest weather-related phenomenon in the state. In Citrus County, we have had three homes catch fire from lightening so far this summer.The home shown below was in Lecanto Florida. According to the Citrus County Chronicle "Firefighting units from four stations  were unable to save the Lecanto home and it's contents valued at more than $500,000.