A Diary of Clouds

Since I have been unable to find a regular photo challenge to my liking I have set up a tumblr called A Diary of Clouds. In it I am going to post a daily picture of clouds. This turned out to be quite a challenge yesterday since the sky was pretty much cloudless until sunset and that was a close thing since I don't have a clear view of the horizon near my home. Luckily I knew a nice wide open spot near soccer practice and I was able to scoot on over at the last moment.

There will be no words, just pictures. I like having a regular challenge and I like how this makes me look up and around.

Tunnel

I was in bed reading when I noticed this little tunnel in the pillows next to me. It is not the most exciting of subject matter, but I like it.

Morning Undulatus

Normally I would do Artist of the week, but this week it's all about clouds.

Today during the morning dog walk I noticed the sky was filled with the most amazing clouds. Shyly peeking out were all sorts of striated patterns. I think this is called Altostratus Undulatus, but I could be wrong. It is not very easy to get a clear cut description of cloud types. Wrong or right I was just happy I had my cell phone in my pocket. I happily snapped pictures along the walk whenever the dogs stopped to read their p-mail.

And it was a good thing that I did. By mid-morning the clouds were all gone. We had a brilliantly sunny day with a cloudless sky. A nice change of pace from the endless cycles of rain/snow/slush with gloomy clouds. It was starting to feel like Spring and it's attendant warmer weather would never come.

So here are a few of the pictures I took this morning.

The top picture was just after I turned out of our driveway and first noticed the sky. It looks all dramatic with the darker clouds lower down on the horizon. As I walked along the clouds thinned out and you could see more and more of the wavy pattern.

In the middle picture, taken just ten minutes later you can see the sky has brightened quiet a bit. I think the three parallel lines in the lower left are old contrails. Maybe.

The last picture is my favorite.The sun is higher up and is providing some wonderful light that really shows off the pattern. I'm so glad I had grabbed my phone on the way out this morning.

Morning Drive

This was the sky this morning when I dropped off Nate for his bus to school. He is out of district for his high school and we have a variety of choices: drive him alllll the way to his school on the other side of the district, have him catch the express bus from our neighborhood at 5:45 in the fracking morning, or catch the bus 10 minutes away at 6:40 am.

For me the choice was clear and with the added bonus of a car pool in my neighborhood I don't have to do all the driving. And every now and then I get to see a pretty sky.

Lively

Lively, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

It has been far from lively around here. I need to change my ways and post during the day when I don't have to compete with other people for the use of my computer. Plus I need to get out and take more pictures. In my defense it has been either hideously cold or raining, neither of which are conducive to my going outside to do anything.

So in honor of all of that, here is a funny, at least to me, picture of a cemetery I spotted whilst tooling about. I was so amused over the contradiction of the idea of lively dead that I didn't notice the misspelling until it was pointed out to me. The typo makes me love this sign even more.

Artist of the Week: Snow and Sky

Snow and Sky, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

I'm not sure who or what to credit this, except I was the one to notice it and take a picture.

We love our new skylights that were installed when we had the roof redone last year. The windows are so clear, it is almost as though there is nothing separating us from the elements. That said thety do an excellent job keeping out the weather and keeping in the heat.

This morning they were covered with a layer of snow. As the sun came up the snow slowly slumped down the windows. I looked up and saw this perfect wave of snow beautifully set off by the bright blue winter sky with a trace of clouds. The black is an artifact of the contrast of the brightly lit skylight and the ceiling.

I thought it was a stunning composition and I'm pleased with how well it turned out.

Bubbly

Bubbly, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

I was making waffles this morning and I was struck by how the egg looked half submerged in the batter. The light was just right, begging for me to break out the camera. A decidedly odd choice for a photograph, but I think worthwhile.

I had just put in all the wet ingredients, buttermilk, oil. and eggs. The final whisking was the next step. Normally I don't use oil in my cooking, but the oil makes the waffles light and crispy. And it turns out, it also makes for an interesting picture.

Frosty

Frosty, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

We haven't had any of the severe weather that has been sweeping up the coast. The most we have had is some icing on the trees. Mind you there were power outages, but it wasn't nearly as bad as predicted.

Heck we haven't had any snow days or even a two hour delay.

This picture was from Monday. The upper branches have a thin coating of ice while the roads remain clear. Pretty much the ideal ice storm, pretty trees without dangerous road conditions. However I would have enjoyed to sleep in even more.

Chrysalis

Chrysalis, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

Not so long ago I shared a picture of a black swallowtail caterpillar in my parsley. Another one showed up the next day and I have been keeping tabs on them for the past week and a half. One of them went missing and I discovered what happened to it. According to this site, the chrysalis resembles a stick and I must agree. It blended in so well with the tomato stake I had in the pot that I almost missed it.

Supposedly it will emerge as a butterfly in about ten days, unless it is in diapause. If it is in diapause, it will over winter in the chrysalis form and emerge in springtime. With the brisk weather we have had the past few days, my money is on spring. I'll try to protect it until then.

Raspberry Drop

Raspberry, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

Last week Jacob was having a little late nigt snack of raspberries when he noticed the water drop on top of the one he was about to eat. He marveled at how the surface tension of the water held it in domed shape. Thenhe showed me the berry with it's water drop and asked me to take a picture.

I'm pretty pleased with how it came out. II took three shots and this one (the third) was the best. I used the microwave's door as a backdrop, I knew the black surface would show off the droplet perfectly. A little tweaking of the color and crop that tightened up the photo was all that I did.

Snappy

snappy, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

I was at the library this week and as I stepped outside I looked up at the flag out front. The sky, as you can see, was a clear brilliant blue. A good breeze was blowing so the flag was snapping in the wind. The flag pole is quite close to the entrance and you have to really crane your neck to see the flag. I liked the perspective and the colors so much I deemed it worthy to go to the car for my camera and to come back and take a few pictures.

I don't know what is so pleasing to me about this picture. I can tell you that it is true to what I saw and the picture is straight out of the camera. No cropping, no color adjustment, no editing whatsoever. Not bad for a little point and shoot i got for $50.

Still Morning

Still Morning, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

I'm starting to feel hints of fall, The mornings are chill and it takes a while for the day to warm up. Leaves are starting to show hints of red and orange. And the sun is slowly sliding lower on the horizon, changing the quality of light, No longer the harsh, flat blaze of summer light, there is a softer feel to daylight.

Picture of the Week: Round Up

Round Up, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

I had no real expectations when I took this photo. I had my little point and shoot camera with me and got some decent shots, I was able to get the timing right so that Meryl was clearly visible. I pulled out my cell phone so I could do a quick upload onto Facebook.

All I took was one picture with my phone and I was amazed with the result. I wasn't expecting much so I was blown away by the clarity of the picture. The picture is straight out of the phone. No cropping, no adjusting of light levels, nor color enhancing. It was uploaded straight from the phone to Flickr. The blur on the Round Up is perfect. Motion is indicated, but the static features are clearly captured.

Cell phone cameras have come a long way.

Cathedral of Trees

Cathedral of Trees, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

I can't believe it, we got an actual sunny day. An event that has been far too infrequent this summer.

I took this picture of Max up at my cousins on another of those rare dry days. We had climbed the hill behind the house and found a short track in the woods. It was at most 50 yards, but the effect was almost cathedral like.

The tall trees reaching up and arching overhead enclosed an open area within the woods. It was cool and inviting after the hot and open field. I would have lingered longer, but Max had other places to go off to.

Summer in Vermont

Summer in Vermont, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

Since today was such a wet and dreary day I thought this would a nice bright and cheerful way to end the week.

I really like this picture, I took it last week in Vermont. It was a spur of the moment idea to put the dandelion in the foreground with the the mountains fading into background.

We were all tromping down the hill when I saw the dandelion towering over the other plants. I did a quick shot and immediately liked what I saw. All I did was straighten out the picture and crop it just a bit.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Rainbow in Vermont, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

I am so sick of rain.

It has rained almost every day this summer with the added bonus of some sort of thunderstorm rolling in every couple of days. Last night's storm was particularly notable. The thunderclaps shook the house numerous times and at one point is was almost like the fourth of July.

It even rained during our grand tour of up north. The rivers were running high and fast with no hope of their going down in the near future. Once again we missed out on fireworks.

On the upside we have seen plenty of rainbows. I caught this one up at my cousin's house in VT. It stretched all across the sky and lingered for quite some time. The only other benefit is that I have yet to turn on our sprinkler system. With all the rain we are getting the lawn is just fine, thank you very much.

Boiling Over

Boiling Over, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

Red Boys in Repose

Red Boys in Repose, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

The red boys certainly have the lazy days of summer down pat. We got this bed for them last year and it has proven to be a very good idea.

Years and years ago I got beds for the dogs and they were promptly ripped to shreds. I ended up getting a western style saddle pad and that lasted for many years, but it wasn't particularly comfy. This bed is far more comfortable and the red boys love it.

Flag Day

flags, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

I took this picture on Monday simply because I liked the sky and how the flags were snapping in the breeze. I completely forgot about flag day and it wasn't until after dinner and I was trying to decide what to post that i remembered.

Even if it wasn't Flag Day I would still post this picture. The lighting and composition are just right. I did nothing to this picture it is straight out of my cell phone. Cell cameras have come a long way.

Land Shark

land shark, a photo by Teckelcar on Flickr.

A few weeks ago I was in the woods, camera in hand, when I stumbled onto this fallen tree. Now I know it doesn't look like an actual shark, but the worn protrusions that flare out from the base of the tree look an awful like a dorsal fin of some sort of sea going creature.

Anyhoodle, I liked the tree and took a picture.

So what do you think it looks like?