Clouds, two sunsets, and a visitor

Another passion of mine besides poetry is clouds, and recently I discovered a web site dedicated solely to clouds. The Cloud Appreciation Society has published a book titled The Cloudspotter’s Guide, which I’ve added to my growing wish list, and while looking for their book at Amazon.com I came across Recognize, which if the cover photo is any indication should be breathtaking.

I don’t know all the scientific names of clouds, and I’m not a very skilled photographer. I can’t even apparently be bothered to find a better location to shoot from than straight through the power lines. But when armed with my digital camera and faced with a spectacular sky, sometimes I just start turning knobs and pushing buttons and get lucky. (One of these days I should read the instruction manual—that’s sure to improve my luck.)

This was a special sunset last January when the clouds became streamers of burnished gold:

The following cloud seemed to come to life and dominate the sky one afternoon last February like a great fluffy beast:

Closer up you can see how it reached a furred arm for the telephone pole:

I sometimes wish the telephone pole wasn’t there when I’m taking sunset photos, but then where would the crows sit to do their bobbing mating dance? Where would the mockingbird do whirly-gigs in the air, flashing the white bands of its wings? Where would the red-tailed hawk perch to survey the hillside while every other bird falls into breathless, waiting silence? The cloud didn’t snatch up the pole and run away with it after all, so at least the birds are happy.

This fiery sunset in November 2004 made me want to run for my watercolors, but using the camera was quicker:

While not a cloud picture, this was another stroke of luck, taken when our dog treed this little guy in the palm tree in our back yard. He patiently waited for me to snap a couple of shots, preferring the camera to the dog’s barking. He peered first from one side of the tree, then the other. Finally we went our peaceful ways, except the dog, who returned grudgingly indoors, thinking humans don’t know how to have fun. He grumbled for a while, but got over it.