From my seat in 7B, I see mounds of cottony clouds stretching for miles. I can’t go anywhere for the next two hours (except into a book or another nap), and this wide view is a mesmerizing rare treat.
I watch and wonder.
What does Cloud feel like? If I could reach through the window and pull a handful into the airplane for a closer look, would Cloud compress in my hand the way snow does? Melt in the warmth of my palm? Can I even hold some in my hand?
What does Cloud taste like? Does Cloud have a smell?
Does a rain cloud look different from a snow cloud?
Are clouds weather made visible?
Is it even possible to separate clouds from weather, weather from sky? Or clouds from place?
Clouds are shape-shifters, appearing, disappearing, forming, dissolving, growing larger, breaking apart, becoming layered, turning darker, moving across the sky. Are there seasonal patterns, such that fall cumulus clouds can be distinguished from those of winter, spring or summer? Might I look forward to the qualities of fall clouds the way I eagerly anticipate the softer autumnal light?
As questions arise and float by, a realization that I haven’t given clouds much focused attention opens into a yearning to know them.
Such interesting timing!
My husband and I stayed in a mountain town for a week and something I noticed was how differently clouds behave in the mountains. For example, you can clearly see the clouds massing around the highest mountains and the rain coming down.
Clouds are one of the wonderful things about living on planet Earth. The water cycles we get to observe going from liquid to gas and back to liquid again. How water makes so much possible for all of us living on Earth.
The sun and water are the two most important elements that make our planet the magical place that it is.
How cool, Judy, that you noticed the clouds’ behavior.
I also love watching – or at least noticing – the move from liquid to solid (ice and snow) and back to liquid.
Just wonderful—love all your questions.
Thank you, Amrita. I know there will be many more!
Thank you, Marilyn, for your tactile wonderment about the clouds you were watching. I also love clouds, and the contributions here from you and others is beautiful.
After writing this Field Note, I happened upon this in a book I’m reading (The Forest Year by Ethan Tapper):
“The word ’nuance’ is derived from the Latin word nubes, meaning ‘cloud.’ Its modern meaning alludes to the subtle variation in light and color present within clouds, a display visible only to those who look closely.”