To avoid the crowds these days, I take late evening strolls. I’ve a painter friend who likes to look at clouds, which prompted me to notice them more intentionally. Last evening, I saw the clouds change from a placid white to orange to dramatic red.
Here’s the sequence, just within 20 minutes before sunset at 9:30 pm. Yes, wait till June and we get light till ten. I didn’t have my camera with me, so I just used my cell phone. For authenticity, I’ve kept these photos in their original form.
I’ll begin with this view from the escarpment high up, the same spot I saw my moose/elk neighbour:
After a few minutes, the clouds began to change to a golden hue:
Then into a Turner painting:
From golden to pinkish delight, marshmallows in the sky:
And in another part, the scene was more dramatic with a streak of lava splitting through:
Here are the panoramic takes of the lava in the sky:
Red sky? Or red clouds and blue sky? No matter, with scenes like these, words became unimportant. But words did come up in my mind… Red sky at night, birder’s delight. I knew what tomorrow would be good for.
Ripple Effects 
I love cloud watching! I believe it was the author Richard Bach who wrote in one of his books that clouds like to do tricks when they know you are watching. So I always like to keep an eye on them to see what they are getting up to 🙂
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Richard Bach would know cause he’s a pilot… clouds and sky, flying and aspiring. Thanks for leading me to the fond memory of his wildly popular JLS, 🙂
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Isn’t it amazing! Have you seen any of the Cloud Appreciation Society site? https://cloudappreciationsociety.org/ I would rather watch my own clouds, since I never the names of the different formations — except that there are some beautiful photos that people send in from all over the world.
I hope you were right about the next day, that the birds would reveal themselves! Maybe we’ll be lucky enough see some photographic evidence of that next.
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Well, the next day is today. I’m afraid it isn’t a good day for birding, overcast sky, a little rain too. Guess red cloud at night doesn’t necessarily lead to sailor’s delight, unlike red sky. BTW, thanks for the link. Used to know their names but don’t bother now. My appreciation is very intuitive and elementary, just their colours and the aesthetics. 🙂
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They are dramatic, alright!
Sorry, I see that I left out a word in my comment, “…I never remember the names…” I sometimes don’t do too well one-thumbing it on my little phone.
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No worries. I knew what you meant. 🙂
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Wow. I must do this more often, we too have amazing clouds where I live.
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Gorgeous.
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What beautiful skies. It’s so important to look up. And keep looking to see the change.
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I’ve found birdwatching is good for the neck muscle and flexibility. Clouds gazing has similar effects. 🙂
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I love looking at skies as a painter. Beautiful shots!
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I’m sure you appreciate clouds from an artistic POV. I look at them like Charlie Brown and his Peanuts pals do… oh, marshmallows in the sky. 🙂
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You captured sky-blue pink! Did you ever know ds, who had the blog called Third Storey Window? She was the one who introduced me to the phrase. As a matter of fact, I used it for the title of a recent post.”
This is how ds described it: ““The magic, of course, is color, and at least from this window it is brief, intense, and unusual. It is sky-blue-pink. Take those tints right out of the old Crayola box–the one with 64 upright crayons and the sharpener on the outside– “sky blue” and “pink.” Let them swirl and blend, dodging the occasional cloud, yet remaining distinct. Try not to let them morph into purple. No hint of gold or yellow remains; the sun is already gone. Sky-blue-pink. Say it as a single word; see it as a single hue.”
Your photos and her words go together perfectly.
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Of course I remember ds. She hasn’t been blogging for years now, but I still remember all the great conversations we’d had as she looked out from her Third Storey Window. Thanks for the reminder of the sky-blue pink. And I didn’t know you have another blog either.
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Beautiful. Hope you are holding up well during these strange days!
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Our City has started reopening this week. Things are still quiet as businesses have to abide by new regulations. Hope you’re well and keeping safe too.
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I hadn’t heard of birder’s delight, I always say shepherd’s delight :). I’m glad you didn’t alter the images, the camera phone photos are getting so good now aren’t they!
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Charlotte, birder’s delight is my newly coined phrase. I think originally, it was sailor’s delight. I haven’t heard of shepherd’s delight. 🙂
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Clouds and sunsets always a beautiful combination. Thank you for sharing these.
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Geri,
Thanks for stopping by the Pond and throwing in your two pebbles. Hope to hear from you again. 🙂
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I love the feverish long days of June. It’s interesting to see the change in skies. My friend Liz makes paintings like these. It’s rare to see these skies for real in my UK town.
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Open sky and wide spaces we have, and with that, the clouds and colours. Maybe we have more natural ‘mishaps’ too (can’t think of a better words) like hail which can be damaging, and thunderstorms, flooding etc.
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