posted October 20, 2007 12:12 PM         

I saw two clouds at morning Tinged by the rising sun, And in the dawn they floated on And mingled into one.
~John Gardiner Calkins Brainard

The clouds,--the only birds that never sleep.
~Victor Hugo

Were I a cloud I'd gather My skirts up in the air, And fly well know whither, And rest I well know where.
~Robert Seymour Bridges

Clouds on clouds, in volumes driven, Curtain round the vault of heaven.
~Thomas Love Peacock

posted October 20, 2007 12:14 PM         

Rows and floes of angel hair
And ice cream castles in the air
And feather canyons evrywhere
Ive looked at clouds that way

But now they only block the sun
They rain and snow on evryone
So many things I would have done
But clouds got in my way
Ive looked at clouds from both sides now
From up and down, and still somehow
Its cloud illusions I recall
I really dont know clouds at all

Moons and junes and ferris wheels
The dizzy dancing way you feel
As evry fairy tale comes real
Ive looked at love that way

But now its just another show
You leave em laughing when you go
And if you care, dont let them know
Dont give yourself away

Ive looked at love from both sides now
From give and take, and still somehow
Its loves illusions I recall
I really dont know love at all

Tears and fears and feeling proud
To say I love you right out loud
Dreams and schemes and circus crowds
Ive looked at life that way

But now old friends are acting strange
They shake their heads, they say Ive changed
Well somethings lost, but somethings gained
In living evry day

posted October 20, 2007 12:20 PM         

Clouds in the morning, and in the afternoon
Clouds in the evening and underneath the moon
Clouds that excite me and send shivers down my spine.
Clouds that send rain and preceed thunder that makes me whine.
Clouds that are puffy, sweet, and swift,
Clouds that show shapes symbolizing God's gift.

posted October 21, 2007 05:49 PM         

A ‘tuba’ is when a cloud extends a finger towards Earth. Young children often yearn to reach up and touch the soft mounds of a fair-weather Cumulus. So who can blame a cloud for wanting to know what the ground feels like?

It does have to get worked up into a vigorous spin, however, before it can summon the energy to do so. In and around the intense downdrafts associated with large Cumulonimbus and Cumulus congestus clouds, a vortex of swirling air can develop – like that of water draining down a plughole. The air in the center drops in pressure as a result of all the spinning, which can make it cool enough for some of its water vapour to combine into droplets.

Like the slender pair of swirling digits forming above, tuba are columns or cones of cloud extending down the middle of these vortices. They do not always end up reaching the surface, however. More often than not, the cloud loses heart before touching terra firma. Maybe it knows that, in another guise – on a different day – it will return as fog or mist, only to hug the ground until it is heartily sick of it.

posted October 21, 2007 05:51 PM         

Those unfamiliar with the habits of our fluffy friends will claim that it never snows on warm, clear, sunny days. Of course, a cloudspotter knows that they are talking complete and utter nonsense.

In fact, high clouds often produce snowfalls, which evaporate in the warmer, drier air below, well before reaching the ground. When this is the case, they exhibit supplementary features, known as ‘virga’. These dangling tendrils of ice crystals (or droplets) often have a wavy appearance as they fall through the varying wind currents.

posted October 21, 2007 05:58 PM         

Western Lowland Gorilla
Richard Parnell, Member 7750, has written to tell us of evidence of cloudspotting amongst western lowland gorillas that he observed during a three-year field trip to study them in Congo, Africa.

Richard was observing gorillas from a hide next to a jungle clearing. A family emerged from the foliage and began to make their way across the clearing. After just a few steps out out into the treeless swamp, one juvenile gorilla happened to look up. She suddenly cringed and raced back into the jungle. A few moments later she reemerged, only to look up again and show exactly the same startled reaction.

“I half expected to see a large eagle circling,” Richard told us, “but stepping out from under my tarpaulin canopy, I was rewarded with this fabulous sky, which was undoubtedly the cause of the young gorilla’s alarm.”

posted October 21, 2007 10:14 PM         

quote:

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More often than not, the cloud loses heart before touching terra firma. Maybe it knows that, in another guise – on a different day – it will return as fog or mist, only to hug the ground until it is heartily sick of it.

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posted October 22, 2007 01:04 PM         

myfriendinspirit, that is a magnificent image! It reminds me of one AG posted awhile back. I'm trying to find it...

posted October 22, 2007 10:27 PM         

fantastic.

posted October 23, 2007 08:58 PM         

not the best quality but better than nothing. i know what it looks like to me.
what about you?

i played around with different options (sunny, cloudy, night etc) and zoomed in and out, not sure which one i like best. watch what happened...something else jumps out, too - to me at least.

posted October 23, 2007 09:10 PM         

1.

2.

3.

4.

posted October 23, 2007 09:14 PM         

1X

it didnt jump out at me until the second zoom...

2X

The little black clouds moved to form a happy face. !

see it?