Remember Me?

Almost a year. Yikes. My bad. And lots of clouds. This pic inspired me to plug back in. It’s from a friend in Boston.

Meanwhile, in Iowa

Gary Scott (ASLA’s president and apparently a superhero who can rip pavement asunder…sorry, inside joke) shared this incredible shot of his Iowa sky. Who knew? Apparently, given the comments, many people. I need to take a long, slow drive across the country. I’ve done coast-to-coast, but always in a hurry. Up until this, my favorite skies were in Montana. I’m going to have to revisit that.

Italian Sky

No, this wasn’t taken in Italy, but in a parking lot in suburban Virginia. But for whatever reason, it brought to mind Renaissance Italian painting, particularly Raphael. I know, pretentious. Maybe it’s just wanderlust, or the light. I have posted lots of images of dramatic clouds. This is something else entirely.

Friends with Cameras

A former colleague of mine, Zac Brousseau, takes some seriously lovely pictures, which can be seen on his flickr page (http://www.flickr.com/photos/15966318@N00/). This is one of them. Looking at his pictures sent me back here.

Clouds Matter

It’s been ridiculously too long since I’ve written here, and it’s not for lack of clouds. Last evening had a particularly special show as cloud-cover disintegrated, allowing swirls of glowing light to marblize the sky. I need to get my camera working so I can keep this up. Forgive me for now, happy holidays, and keep looking up.

Nancy Somerville, Hon. ASLA, shares this shot, which has a lovely kind of melancholy about it. The one boat, the empty raft, the still water against an agitated sky. It again accents the land as a constant by showing the sky as motion.

It’s cool how clouds can actually help define the land. This image, from ASLA President Gary Scott, FASLA, suggests the long, flat vistas of his native Iowa, though I have no idea if it is, in fact, Iowa. I love the perspective that the clouds accent.  It reminds me of a painting by Milton Avery that I just saw at the Art Institute of Chicago, though of water. It was enormous, and the dashes of paint in this example (can’t find the painting anywhere) are diminishing rounded rectangles of white suggesting light on the sea.

From on High

It’s one thing to look up at clouds, another to be among them. Glen Schmidt, FASLA, a member of my PR & Communications Advisory Committee , took these spectacular images while flying from Taiwan to Los Angeles. They induce a kind of trance, really, a spell. Be sure to click on them to enlarge. Almost enough to cure me of my fear of flying.

Lake George Skies

It’s been a week since it happened, and my week of leisure in Lake George is evaporating. I’m holding onto the vestiges of it, though, and my clouds help. I could watch these all day. In fact, I did.  

Remember Those Beautifully Named Clouds?

“Noctilucent,” they’re called. Seems we are having one heck of a global season of them, and they are thrilling people all over the globe. Cousin John sent me the above image (again by Marek Mikodem in Szubin, Poland), which led me to the one below as well. Stunning. Difficult to see where the earth ends and sky begins. Take some time to explore for yourself at http://spaceweather.com/nlcs/gallery2009_page13.htm?PHPSESSID=a2t6r29o592jm2tcqm5jbv4lt7.