I fully admit that I am not a weather aficionado like my husband, Bryon, and science and physics have always been my weakest subjects. But I do admire the beauty of what’s around me, and all things created through natural occurrences in some way inspire me. Such is the case with clouds. Bryon, the meteorologist, understands why clouds form, what different types of clouds are called, which clouds signify thunderstorms, snow, or even tornadoes. I definitely know nothing about these things, despite his best efforts to educate me. When Bryon and I started dating, we once went to a discount bookstore where he purchased me a book, “Weather for Dummies.” I won’t say his efforts went completely unrewarded as I have learned a bit about snow storms, and the difference between northwest flow and up slope storms. But it’s mostly because I want to plan for my next powder day of skiing.
Having said all that, I am fascinated with the cloud formations we see here in the mountains of Colorado. I can’t remember even noticing clouds much anywhere else I live, but the shapes and lighting of the clouds is so uniquely breathtaking and unlike anything else, that it literally stops me on my tracks. One day I was driving back from Estes Park on the Peak to Peak highway, and the colors and shapes of the clouds so captivated me, I pulled over to the side of the road, and stood there for a good ten minutes just taking it all in. The wonders of our modern smart phones allows me to do more than that, and actually attempt to capture it through amateur photography.
When I got home the other day from my walk with the dogs, I noticed the lighting of the clouds from the setting sun, how it created purples and pinks reflecting off the shapes of the clouds. I rushed to take a few photos before the light was gone, and just oohed and awed quietly inside me, as if I was watching my own personal fireworks show. Though I don’t understand the scientific whys of what creates such a scene, I still admire the results of what it produces.
