This may seem an inane little post to anyone who has lived his/her life constantly in the same geography; however, some of you may feel this one as deeply as I do. To me, today's observation was not just curiosity at work, it was a reconnection with my home.
Over the past two weeks or so, during my commutes from Louisville to Greenwood, I've been lulled by the landscape. It's nothing to write home about -- flatish land with lots of trees and billboards, a few scattered barns and horses, and some crops in the fields. A long, dull drive. Fortunately, I've found inspiration during these 2-hour drives in the cloudscape that has decorated my journeys home. I suppose it has something to do with the hurricane weather in the Atlantic/Gulf region lately. Whatever it is, the clouds have been simply magnificent!
It's been like Mother Nature was in an artistic mood and simply decided to paint clouds in the blue sky. I mean, not just clouds but cloudscapes. These are cloud banks with depth, form, and dimension. Lighted dramatically by the setting sun and spreading simply down to what seems to be the edge of the earth. The dramatic cloud banks that float in, crash about with thunder and lightning, and then disappear just as dramatically are nice; however, these are still, deep, and fascinating. A layer upon layer of lighted clouds that seem to go on forever. These are what I've missed most of my adult life while living out West. These clouds not only decorate the landscape, they give life its texture, tone, meaning... as if to say, "yeah so what? look at this!" It puts our miniscule lives into such perspective.
I lived in Northern California for 17 years. The whole time I was there I missed the summer storms of this area. I missed the changing skies, the changing weather. I learned to accept, as odd as this may sound, the brilliant blue skies of the West during the summer. The skies there are simple. There is no depth, no artistry at work. Just sunny, blue skies. I couldn't help but miss the artwork of Mother Nature herself while I was out there. Granted, no humidity but with that bonus came a demerit -- no interesting skies, no interesting weather. A day-to-day, predictable forecast with little suspense ever.
I wish I had pictures of today's cloudscape. (If I can ever remember to put my digital camera in the car, I'll try to post some cloud pics.) As I drove from Greenwood back to Louisville, I had to keep re-focusing myself on the road as the clouds distracted me. They were deep, layered, and lit in a way that made them seem to stack back upon themselves forever. They even seemed to come close to the ground, almost as if I might drive right off the edge of the earth. I am so glad to be back home and to find myself still filled with wonder at the artistry in the skies here. I have had that wonder, that love of Mother Nature since childhood. I suppose some things never change, thank God! It's a joy to be home again.
Over the past two weeks or so, during my commutes from Louisville to Greenwood, I've been lulled by the landscape. It's nothing to write home about -- flatish land with lots of trees and billboards, a few scattered barns and horses, and some crops in the fields. A long, dull drive. Fortunately, I've found inspiration during these 2-hour drives in the cloudscape that has decorated my journeys home. I suppose it has something to do with the hurricane weather in the Atlantic/Gulf region lately. Whatever it is, the clouds have been simply magnificent!
It's been like Mother Nature was in an artistic mood and simply decided to paint clouds in the blue sky. I mean, not just clouds but cloudscapes. These are cloud banks with depth, form, and dimension. Lighted dramatically by the setting sun and spreading simply down to what seems to be the edge of the earth. The dramatic cloud banks that float in, crash about with thunder and lightning, and then disappear just as dramatically are nice; however, these are still, deep, and fascinating. A layer upon layer of lighted clouds that seem to go on forever. These are what I've missed most of my adult life while living out West. These clouds not only decorate the landscape, they give life its texture, tone, meaning... as if to say, "yeah so what? look at this!" It puts our miniscule lives into such perspective.
I lived in Northern California for 17 years. The whole time I was there I missed the summer storms of this area. I missed the changing skies, the changing weather. I learned to accept, as odd as this may sound, the brilliant blue skies of the West during the summer. The skies there are simple. There is no depth, no artistry at work. Just sunny, blue skies. I couldn't help but miss the artwork of Mother Nature herself while I was out there. Granted, no humidity but with that bonus came a demerit -- no interesting skies, no interesting weather. A day-to-day, predictable forecast with little suspense ever.
I wish I had pictures of today's cloudscape. (If I can ever remember to put my digital camera in the car, I'll try to post some cloud pics.) As I drove from Greenwood back to Louisville, I had to keep re-focusing myself on the road as the clouds distracted me. They were deep, layered, and lit in a way that made them seem to stack back upon themselves forever. They even seemed to come close to the ground, almost as if I might drive right off the edge of the earth. I am so glad to be back home and to find myself still filled with wonder at the artistry in the skies here. I have had that wonder, that love of Mother Nature since childhood. I suppose some things never change, thank God! It's a joy to be home again.
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