Day 57: August 9, 2012 ~ Nature's Canvas

Day 57: August 9, 2012 ~ Nature's Canvas

"The sky, a perfect empty canvas, offers clouds nonetheless. They shift and drift and beg interpretation...such is the nature of art."

~Jeb Dickerson

"I never get tired of the blue sky."

~Vincent van Gogh

  

It was such a beautiful day that I decided to bring my lunch out to the labyrinth garden today. As I settled in and began to relax I started to pay closer attention to the beauty surrounding me—first noticing the flowers in the garden beside me, and then my attention was drawn upward to the trees overhead, and then...whoa! I looked up and saw the most exquisite sky! I don't think I've ever seen a sky quite like this, light wispy feathers of cloud covering the entire sky. I didn't have my camera with me, but fortunately I did have my phone, which takes decent photographs, so I snapped a few pictures. This one captures the mood the best.

I feel like a whole new universe opened up for me today! I must admit I've never paid very much attention to clouds. I've generally been more interested in evening sky gazing, appreciating a beautiful sunset or the romance of a starlit sky. Today my eyes beheld a wondrous sight and it made me curious about clouds. 

When I got home from work I did a google search for "clouds" and found an astonishing amount of information. I discovered the Cloud Appreciation Society—seriously. Check out www.cloudappreciationsociety.org for more info. :-) The website lists all the different cloud types, with images and descriptions. After perusing the images, I believe the clouds I saw today were cirrocumulus. The website also features a "Cloud of the Month"—choosing from images sent in by people from all over the world. Perhaps I'll submit my photo! There is even an International Cloud Festival...we just missed the one in Ireland last month.

Today my heart opened when I looked up at the sky, awed by the beauty and majesty of nature's canvas, grateful for another moment of exquisite joy. Makes me wonder what other wonderful things there are to see in the world that I haven't noticed...