Beauty and Concern

I don't take terribly many pictures with my phone.  For me, a phone is for making and receiving phone calls and a camera is for taking pictures.  I can appreciate that my phone allows me to take pictures and videos, just as I can appreciate that I could, if I wish, check my email.  My main objection isn't the technology so much as how much we seem to tie ourselves to it.

But, there are times when I am witnessing something and I know I won't catch what I am seeing if I run to get the camera.  That's when the camera function on the phone is actually appreciated.

This past June, at about 9pm, I noted these cumulus cloud formations and took note of some of the vertical ridging that was telling me there was some strong updraft as these built towards a cumulonimbus formation.  

My first instincts told me there was probably some hail in those clouds (it turns out I was correct about that), which means my farmer mentality went right to cataloging all of the things I need to consider as an immediate response.  Those same instincts also told me to calm down because the location of these clouds were such that they were not going to threaten our farm.

Still, that is the reality people like me, who pour themselves into growing food crops and work on their small-scale, diversified farms, must face every time the weather throws something majestically beautiful our way.  Our first thoughts are something along the lines of "oh no, what next?"

I was able to really appreciate the beauty of these clouds only after I had determined we were not in the bulls-eye this time around.  I have to admit that I sometimes feel a bit of guilt when I breathe a sigh of relief, because I know there is someone else in that bulls-eye.  But I can't help it.  Nature is beautiful, even when she is terrible.

Sadly, Tammy had recently had Achilles surgery, so she was stuck on our back porch and the house was between her and what I was seeing.  Knowing there wasn't any chance she would get to see them, I took some pictures so she could see them at a later point in time.  Well, Tammy, it took me a couple of months before I got the photos off of the phone, but here they are.

Learn Something New

Both of us enjoy looking at clouds as they go by, or over, our farm.  It is true that they often bring concern and worry (and maybe a bit of fear at times).  But they are incredibly interesting and they are often inspire awe and wonder in us as we observe them.

I readily admit that the names of the different types of clouds do not readily roll off my tongue.  But, that doesn't mean I am unwilling to get better at it.  It turns out that there is a pretty useful site called What's This Cloud.  Or, if that's not for you, try Science Direct to see what sorts of written resources are out there for cloud classification.  It looks to me like the Encyclopedia of Atmospheric Sciences might be of interest in the future!