I am utterly enchanted by clouds. It’s so hard to wrap my mind around them, no doubt because they are so ephemeral. Science can explain particular types, but I always think of them as some peculiar shape-shifting tribe of ethereal magic. They can be such a helpful reminder of how energy moves; how things shift; how not to hold on so tightly; how the powerful can dance lightly.
Although appreciating clouds can (and might I say should) be an everyday occurrence, I’m happy to know there is an official Cloud Appreciation Day organized by the Cloud Appreciation Society and celebrated today (September 16) with an international online event. They’ve organized a Memory Cloud Atlas, and anyone around the world can indicate their location on a map and upload a photo of their sky. I confess I’ve spent quite a bit of time this morning skyviewing around the world, and I encourage you to do the same. You can check it out here.
I find this quote by Mark Twain delightful:
“The air up there in the clouds is very pure and fine, bracing and delicious. And why shouldn’t it be? — it is the same the angels breathe.“
While not angels, the Nephelai were considered by the ancient Greeks to be the cloud nymphs who arose from the Earth-encompassing River Okeanos, bearing water to the heavens in cloudy pitchers.
I first read that on a cold winter’s day while I was having a steaming cup of tea, and I totally felt like I was given a peek into the way clouds were formed.
There is actually a Chinese green tea known as cloud tea grown at great elevations in the Himalayas amidst the clouds and mists. There are also legends about monkeys picking tea. And just to round out the connection, there’s a lovely kid’s book entitled Cloud Tea Monkeys.
Although I haven’t had cloud tea, I have no doubt it would be a fine accompaniment for meringue cloud cookies. There are tons of recipe variations so you can likely find one that delights you.
And having fortified ourselves with such airy confections, wouldn’t it be fun look for clouds in unexpected places? Dutch artist Berndnaut Smilde is renowned for his photographs of clouds he created using water and a smoke machine. There’s a brief video explaining his process here.
Of course the real-in-the-sky clouds are utterly magical, and entertainment is only a glance upwards away. The Cloud Appreciation Society understands that. Should your sky be cloudless you can always go online and check out their wonderful galleries of photos.
While it’s always delightful to cloud gaze and see what wonderful shapes and images appear in the sky theatre, there are those who are skilled at cloud divination, an art often called Nephomancy.
So much beauty in the air the angels breathe, wouldn’t you agree?
Yes, absolutely! We have lots of clouds here and I’m often looking up, admiring them. (unless they’re rain clouds, not my favorite) People adore blue sky without realizing the beauty and artistry of cloud formations. They are magical!
Magical indeed!
I understand your obsession with clouds. I love them too. They give me a sense of comfort and freedom.
Yes – comfort and freedom! And how perfect is that?
Hari Om
I spend a got bit of each day watching the clouds over the Hutch, which invariably release the Nephalais’ burden… and remember the places I have lived where clouds were rare and how their appearance could bring about a sort of euphoria of hope that they may break open, shedding that precious cargo. I had no idea there was a dedicated day. I shall enjoy that link! YAM xx
I delight in thinking of you cloud watching in your little corner of the world Yamini. I wonder how many people even think about how location affects the skyscape, let alone contemplate the differences. You’ve made my heart happy thinking about this.
Clouds are an example of how, for me, scientific understanding and aesthetic appreciation are not mutually exclusive, but are simultaneously appreciable. I studied a Meteorology module as part of my degree so I understand a lot about what clouds tell us about atmospheric conditions, but as a sometime painter and photographer, I also love the beauty and variety of clouds.
I include those man-made clouds – aircraft contrails which sometimes persist, sometimes disappear within seconds and when persisting, sometimes spread out until indistinguishable from natural clouds and sometimes stay straight as die. They reveal much about the wind speeds up there and other things… But contrails can be beautiful, symbolic marking highways in the sky, bearing travellers to who knows wear as well as a reminder of the damage aircraft are doing to the environment – an awful lot in a puff of steam…
What a great perspective Andrew, and it makes me smile to have found your comment today. I was just musing about things I think the world needs more of and it boiled down to various iterations of poet-scientists and science-poets.
Hi Deborah – I love the clouds we see and how they change, absorb into others …and the Cloud Appreciation Society has opened many people’s eyes to all aspects of them … so much beauty in the air the angels breathe – yes, oh yes! Cheers Hilary
Watching clouds merge is one my favorite things. There’s something so magical about their joining one another with such ease and such undefended boundaries. It always makes me think of how much we can all learn by just watching the sky.
One of the things I’ve most appreciated about moving to the East of England (a very flat landscape, almost more like the Netherlands or Belgium than anywhere else in the UK) is the amazing skyscapes we get here, clouds piled up on top of clouds all the way to the horizon.
Oh that sounds truly marvelous Kahtleen!
I always enjoy reading these whimsical explorations. 🙂
Clouds are, indeed, frothy nebulous puffs of inexplicable-ness, for all that they are also heavy-bellied harbingers of rain. I am sad to see so many clouds in my sky right now, as it signals the end of a too-short summer and the beginning of cold weather.
And I love your writing. 🙂 Summer certainly did speed by. May our autumn clouds be welcome and entertaining.