Absolutely light is fleeting!! I’ve made the mistake of thinking I’d come back to a spot for shot and of course the light wasn’t the same; it’s everchanging.
I spent an hour one afternoon on the Kansas prairie, watching the cloud shadows move across the hills. Without any variation to speak of in the landscape, it was easy to see their play. And now I’ve learned the great lesson of sunrises and sunsets: it’s not the moment that counts, it’s the process. Some of my favorite sunset photos were taken many minutes after the sun disappeared below the horizon.
Our summer sunrise and sunset colors tend toward red, orange, and gold, like many of our flowers. But spring’s the season for pink and lavender flowers, and it seems the sky was determined to bloom in those same colors on that day. Since you’re a lover of such photos, it pleases me that you enjoyed this one, and its bit of poetry.
Thank you, Tina. One of the good things about consistently cloudy days is that when the sun finally does break through, the patterns can be remarkable.
Gorgeous photo and haiku! You know, skies like these are so fleeting, and one has to be in the right spot at the right time to capture them. For sure, you did!!
‘Fleeting’ is the right word. The color was gone in an hour, and the rain was back by mid-morning. We swing back and forth like a pendulum in spring, as you know. Fronts battle it out overhead, and fog settles in — but the winds can create wonderful patterns in the clouds, as they did here.
Thanks, Rob. Under slightly different conditions, I think we might have seen the so-called “cloud streets” develop, but conditions weren’t quite right, so I stuck with altocumulus — and then I had to write a different haiku!
This was Monday morning, during our little break before the gloom set up shop again. It’s one thing to see the cloud pattern — that’s fairly common — but to see the clouds combined with the sunrise was special. Even the dog walkers along the esplanade were taking notice.
I agonized over doing haikus for Rick’s Valentine book. And none of them really good. Then I come here and it is perfection. Your inspiration photo is fabulous and the mother-of-pearl couldn’t be more appropriate. Envious and delighted with this one!
Like etherees, the form of a haiku depends on syllable count, but that’s the beginning, not the end. It took me a long time to begin to understand a little more about how the structure could be used. One nice thing about haikus is that I can muse over them while I work — a lot of lines get scribbled on that sandpaper.
I have a feeling yours were better than you think. They certainly would pair beautifully with photos and images in one of your Valentine books. Maybe next year!
That sky really was something. A strong northwest wind was separating the clouds, and I was hoping they might develop into even more clearly defined “streets,” but I was satisfied enough with these. I once had a pair of pink mother-of-pearl earrings, and the clouds reminded me of those. Before I knew what had happened, their color had landed in the haiku.
It was such a pleasure to see these clouds after such a long stretch of foggy, gray weather. They didn’t last long in the sky, but now they can last in the photo!
Well I think the mother-of-pearl clouds is a very original way to describe that and I can see the vertical striations with pinks, green and blues wavering and catching the light kind of does fit.
The cloud specialists like to use ‘nacreous,’ but that’s one of those words that doesn’t seem particularly suited for a haiku. I did have to do a little looking to be sure there is pink mother of pearl, and there is. I’ve always thought of it as more silvery, with those rainbow striations, but what’s a little loose metaphor among friends?
The light kept changing, and when the sun finally rose high enough to hit the clouds, it was just lovely. This was one of those now you see it, now you don’t, skies. It wasn’t long before the clouds had dissolved and gone on their way.
Very nice Linda! I really enjoyed it! There is a slightly spiraled arrangement of clouds from foreground receding to the distance which makes it great!
What made these especially interesting to me was that the formation covered only a small portion of the sky — in any other direction, it was clear, or streaked with quite ordinary stratus. Even the sky can have a good bit of variety at any given time, and this was an especially lovely example. The spiraling is rather shell-like, too.
I don’t think there could be a better example of a “spring sky.” Those pastel colors, coming and going with the light, were wonderful. With all that pink and blue, perhaps they’re baby clouds!
At least it makes a good canvas. Here, it’s more the wind that was the artist — it doesn’t usually get such colors and such clouds to work with, though. It certainly was another reminder to take a look upward from time to time. Flowers may grow on the ground, but clouds can grow in that sky.
Lagniappe 
Well done with both the haiku and the picture.
Thank you, David. Light can be as fleeting as a bird at times, but this dawn lingered for a bit, to my great pleasure.
Absolutely light is fleeting!! I’ve made the mistake of thinking I’d come back to a spot for shot and of course the light wasn’t the same; it’s everchanging.
I spent an hour one afternoon on the Kansas prairie, watching the cloud shadows move across the hills. Without any variation to speak of in the landscape, it was easy to see their play. And now I’ve learned the great lesson of sunrises and sunsets: it’s not the moment that counts, it’s the process. Some of my favorite sunset photos were taken many minutes after the sun disappeared below the horizon.
It looks like a painting … a dream sky.
At least one painter, Georgia O’Keeffe, painted multiple images of such clouds, like her Head in the Clouds.
Perfect!
Isn’t it pretty? Sunrises like that make waking up special.
Your cloudscape reminded me of the O’Keeffe painting we saw at the Art Institute of Chicago in 2016.
I should have kept the tag I originally added — ‘Clouds Below Sky’ — and you would have known it reminded me of just the same thing.
Gorgeous – Mother Nature never fails.
Lovely Haiku too.
Our summer sunrise and sunset colors tend toward red, orange, and gold, like many of our flowers. But spring’s the season for pink and lavender flowers, and it seems the sky was determined to bloom in those same colors on that day. Since you’re a lover of such photos, it pleases me that you enjoyed this one, and its bit of poetry.
So beautiful, in word and image.
Thank you, Tina. One of the good things about consistently cloudy days is that when the sun finally does break through, the patterns can be remarkable.
Gorgeous photo and haiku! You know, skies like these are so fleeting, and one has to be in the right spot at the right time to capture them. For sure, you did!!
‘Fleeting’ is the right word. The color was gone in an hour, and the rain was back by mid-morning. We swing back and forth like a pendulum in spring, as you know. Fronts battle it out overhead, and fog settles in — but the winds can create wonderful patterns in the clouds, as they did here.
Very nice poem! And I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a sky in my life, very cool.
Thanks, Rob. Under slightly different conditions, I think we might have seen the so-called “cloud streets” develop, but conditions weren’t quite right, so I stuck with altocumulus — and then I had to write a different haiku!
Hardly looks real – so strange and beautiful. (nice words, too)
This was Monday morning, during our little break before the gloom set up shop again. It’s one thing to see the cloud pattern — that’s fairly common — but to see the clouds combined with the sunrise was special. Even the dog walkers along the esplanade were taking notice.
I agonized over doing haikus for Rick’s Valentine book. And none of them really good. Then I come here and it is perfection. Your inspiration photo is fabulous and the mother-of-pearl couldn’t be more appropriate. Envious and delighted with this one!
Like etherees, the form of a haiku depends on syllable count, but that’s the beginning, not the end. It took me a long time to begin to understand a little more about how the structure could be used. One nice thing about haikus is that I can muse over them while I work — a lot of lines get scribbled on that sandpaper.
I have a feeling yours were better than you think. They certainly would pair beautifully with photos and images in one of your Valentine books. Maybe next year!
Wowzers, that’s an awesome sky and a lovely image of it, Linda. Aka mackerel sky. Nice Haiku as well. You are a writer of many talents.
That sky really was something. A strong northwest wind was separating the clouds, and I was hoping they might develop into even more clearly defined “streets,” but I was satisfied enough with these. I once had a pair of pink mother-of-pearl earrings, and the clouds reminded me of those. Before I knew what had happened, their color had landed in the haiku.
Incredibly beautiful!
It was such a pleasure to see these clouds after such a long stretch of foggy, gray weather. They didn’t last long in the sky, but now they can last in the photo!
Well I think the mother-of-pearl clouds is a very original way to describe that and I can see the vertical striations with pinks, green and blues wavering and catching the light kind of does fit.
The cloud specialists like to use ‘nacreous,’ but that’s one of those words that doesn’t seem particularly suited for a haiku. I did have to do a little looking to be sure there is pink mother of pearl, and there is. I’ve always thought of it as more silvery, with those rainbow striations, but what’s a little loose metaphor among friends?
I love all the colors — the corals and greys and salmon pinks and blues.
The light kept changing, and when the sun finally rose high enough to hit the clouds, it was just lovely. This was one of those now you see it, now you don’t, skies. It wasn’t long before the clouds had dissolved and gone on their way.
Very nice Linda! I really enjoyed it! There is a slightly spiraled arrangement of clouds from foreground receding to the distance which makes it great!
What made these especially interesting to me was that the formation covered only a small portion of the sky — in any other direction, it was clear, or streaked with quite ordinary stratus. Even the sky can have a good bit of variety at any given time, and this was an especially lovely example. The spiraling is rather shell-like, too.
They fair took my breath away!xxx
I don’t think there could be a better example of a “spring sky.” Those pastel colors, coming and going with the light, were wonderful. With all that pink and blue, perhaps they’re baby clouds!
Wow, and all lining up, too! The sky is quite the artist.
At least it makes a good canvas. Here, it’s more the wind that was the artist — it doesn’t usually get such colors and such clouds to work with, though. It certainly was another reminder to take a look upward from time to time. Flowers may grow on the ground, but clouds can grow in that sky.
:-)