land of wonder ~ clouds

Our turbulent Summer weather has been producing some pretty amazing clouds. They absolutely fascinate me!! I will take partly cloudy over boring full sun any day of the week.

Spending time on this blessed land has opened my eyes even wider to the ever morphing shapes in the sky. Clouds on the north side of the river are closer to those of us on the ground. Really, they are!! I've been told "it is the river effect". 

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during light rain
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wider view of above

sunset creates intense colored clouds
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close up of above
(no additional enhancement)

Some days I can't see much further than our windows, but views are still entertaining.

hummer window feeder taken through glass

Wide open views draw me outside, even when I cannot see clouds or the sky.

south west

north west

clouds that make you go hmm?
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The depth and light on clouds stop me in my tracks. Why are they so low? or are they??

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Clouds make a beautiful sunset jaw dropping.

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layered veil clouds (close-up of above)

better look quick, before the clouds swim away



yesterday evening I was floating and pondering clouds
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one twirl around my tiny cowgirl pool and the entertainment changed

 this mornings view of Nemo & Cierra quickly gave way to boring full sun
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give it a few minutes


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It is SO dang gum hot outside, I might just keep my head in the cool clouds.

october skies

Our October cloud formations seem to be so unique lately. It makes me wonder...

looong defined streaks of clouds, all pointing the same direction

10/19/22 at 6:06pm

What caused the clouds to form this way? I know clouds have to do with moisture in the air, but why such long streaks? So, I googled it. Weather.gov has super detailed info on cloud formation. So much, that I will have to dig deeper later.

Graphic credit: Wisconsin.gov

I don't see anything similar. It makes me think separate long streaks are uncommon. Eyes don't lie.

Cierra underneath all kinda clouds

10/27/22

When conditions are right, our October skies are also fill with incredible surround sound color!! In every direction. I still find it AmaZing, and very different from where we used to live.

fire red sunset, creates hazy light

10/25/22 at 6:12pm

We used to live on top of a hill, with an expansive open view of the Eastern sky. No sunsets were visible. The opposite of where we live now. I enjoyed some beautiful sunrises.

Rainbows were easy to predict. When the sun was shining (right after/near the end of rain) I walked outside and waited for a rainbow to appear. It didn't always happen, but many times it did. They were typically gigantic rainbows, far far away. Impossible to capture an entire rainbow in one frame, even with the widest lens.

Imagine my surprise when I walked past our kitchen window and saw a FULL rainbow! It was so close!! We saw friends that night, everyone was talking about the vibrant rainbow. 

 a surprise rainbow, across from our driveway

10/25/22 at 6:00pm

Earlier on, all the colors of a rainbow could easily be seen individually. I watched as the rainbow morphed. A second rainbow formed partially, on the right side.

iphone camera (no adjustments)

one second later than above at 6:01pm

It was abnormal rainbow conditions. There must have been lingering moisture crystals in the air, from the light rain we had earlier in the day.

Since we moved here, I have onIy seen a couple small sections of rainbows. Including an uncommon Red Rainbow. I couldn't stand it anymore and went inside for my camera. After a not so quick lens change, I got one shot off before the rainbow f.a.d.e.d away...

first full rainbow at Hidden Cactus Ranch!! 

facing Northeast at 6:07pm

The oaks across from our house had turned a brilliant red, from the cast sunset light. No clue why my camera picked up such a stormy purple sky. It was lighter blue/purple (you know, blurple) with red-ish clouds.

I never know which way to look with surround color. I end up turning around a lot. At our old place, we could see very distant color in multiple directions. Everything sky is much closer now.

Some locals tell me it is "the river effect". Others tell me clouds are "NOT closer". Whatever. I can see sky elements are closer and LOVE getting lost in the wonder of it all!!

To the naked eye, the rainbow sky looked more like the first camera photo above. 

I used my wide-angle lens, hence the distortion. I didn't have time to think camera settings and make my photo more realistic. Hopefully next time. Although, rainbows are hard to predict here. I'll just have to keep my bananas peeled.
 

Eyes to the skies!!