Comments on: gude clouds here http://magickcanoe.com/blog/2006/07/29/gude-clouds-here/ a place where nature, photography and writing meet Sat, 30 Aug 2008 07:50:16 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.2 by: burning silo http://magickcanoe.com/blog/2006/07/29/gude-clouds-here/#comment-4760 Sun, 30 Jul 2006 12:59:09 +0000 http://magickcanoe.com/blog/2006/07/29/gude-clouds-here/#comment-4760 Wayne - Yes, initially I thought so too, but as I said, after giving it more thought, I realized that people who are in cities, probably don't spend much time looking up at the sky as they wouldn't really be seeing much anyhow. Here, the sky is such a huge part of the horizon in every direction that I may well study it more than I do the surrounding countryside. Also, I think that people who have to make decisions based on weather -- farmers, those who go onto lakes or the ocean in boats, etc... are constantly reading the weather. That's certainly true when I'm out in the canoe. For example, yesterday, we could see thunderheads and hear the odd ominous rumble in the distance, so we decided to head back for the put-in and had plenty of time to get the canoe loaded and tied-down before the first raindrops fell. Wayne - Yes, initially I thought so too, but as I said, after giving it more thought, I realized that people who are in cities, probably don’t spend much time looking up at the sky as they wouldn’t really be seeing much anyhow. Here, the sky is such a huge part of the horizon in every direction that I may well study it more than I do the surrounding countryside. Also, I think that people who have to make decisions based on weather — farmers, those who go onto lakes or the ocean in boats, etc… are constantly reading the weather. That’s certainly true when I’m out in the canoe. For example, yesterday, we could see thunderheads and hear the odd ominous rumble in the distance, so we decided to head back for the put-in and had plenty of time to get the canoe loaded and tied-down before the first raindrops fell.

]]> by: Wayne http://magickcanoe.com/blog/2006/07/29/gude-clouds-here/#comment-4758 Sun, 30 Jul 2006 12:33:33 +0000 http://magickcanoe.com/blog/2006/07/29/gude-clouds-here/#comment-4758 Bev - that's an incredible statistic. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, given the students I run into who don't have the slightest idea of what's going on in the real world around them. After a month of drought, when it finally rained, it wasn't just students complaining about the "bad weather". I always hate to leave with a rant, so I will offer this: *I* look up into the sky to see what's going on dozens of times during the day (and night!). It fascinates me. And usually at least a few times during the day, I sit down and note the cloud types and direction they're travelling. I know that in the next month we're going to have a few weeks of clouds travelling in a very unusual direction, for us, - from the east, when most of the year they come from the south or northwest. I'm watching for that to start happening. It's so sad to see people who can do nothing but navel-gazing. Bev - that’s an incredible statistic. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, given the students I run into who don’t have the slightest idea of what’s going on in the real world around them. After a month of drought, when it finally rained, it wasn’t just students complaining about the “bad weather”.

I always hate to leave with a rant, so I will offer this: *I* look up into the sky to see what’s going on dozens of times during the day (and night!). It fascinates me. And usually at least a few times during the day, I sit down and note the cloud types and direction they’re travelling. I know that in the next month we’re going to have a few weeks of clouds travelling in a very unusual direction, for us, - from the east, when most of the year they come from the south or northwest. I’m watching for that to start happening.

It’s so sad to see people who can do nothing but navel-gazing.

]]> by: burning silo http://magickcanoe.com/blog/2006/07/29/gude-clouds-here/#comment-4722 Sun, 30 Jul 2006 01:33:10 +0000 http://magickcanoe.com/blog/2006/07/29/gude-clouds-here/#comment-4722 Jimmy - "unexpected" is what my days are usually like. Even I don't know what will end up going into the blog until almost the last minute before I start writing! (-: - Robin - I also love unexpected encounters with birds, mammals and insects. It can really make my day. - Peter - Funny you should mention the "distance" thing. When my friend from Amsterdam came to visit the first time, she couldn't get over the distances - even between our farm houses along our road. We've never been to That Dutchman's Farm, although we've been past it a few times. I should really make a point of stopping off the next time we're down east. The problem is always too many things to see and do! - Duncan - I also think we take the beauty of the sky for granted. Here at the farm, we get some great sunrises and sunsets, and also some incredible cloud formations and storm systems passing through. I tend to spend a lot of time looking at the sky because some of the cloud formations seem unreal -- almost like fantastic castles in mountain ranges. To me, they seem so "real" in a dimensional sense, that I can barely rationalize what I'm looking at. A few years ago, when we visited the Kitt's Peak observatory east of Tucson, our tour guide said that the average person only spends about 15 minutes per month looking up at the sky. I thought, "What?!! That can't be right!!" However, I've since given it some thought, and apart from people who actually make a point of looking up at the sky, most people probably rarely lift their eyes above the "chatter" going on around them. Jimmy - “unexpected” is what my days are usually like. Even I don’t know what will end up going into the blog until almost the last minute before I start writing! (-:
-
Robin - I also love unexpected encounters with birds, mammals and insects. It can really make my day.
-
Peter - Funny you should mention the “distance” thing. When my friend from Amsterdam came to visit the first time, she couldn’t get over the distances - even between our farm houses along our road.
We’ve never been to That Dutchman’s Farm, although we’ve been past it a few times. I should really make a point of stopping off the next time we’re down east. The problem is always too many things to see and do!
-
Duncan - I also think we take the beauty of the sky for granted. Here at the farm, we get some great sunrises and sunsets, and also some incredible cloud formations and storm systems passing through. I tend to spend a lot of time looking at the sky because some of the cloud formations seem unreal — almost like fantastic castles in mountain ranges. To me, they seem so “real” in a dimensional sense, that I can barely rationalize what I’m looking at.
A few years ago, when we visited the Kitt’s Peak observatory east of Tucson, our tour guide said that the average person only spends about 15 minutes per month looking up at the sky. I thought, “What?!! That can’t be right!!” However, I’ve since given it some thought, and apart from people who actually make a point of looking up at the sky, most people probably rarely lift their eyes above the “chatter” going on around them.

]]> by: Duncan http://magickcanoe.com/blog/2006/07/29/gude-clouds-here/#comment-4712 Sat, 29 Jul 2006 22:17:58 +0000 http://magickcanoe.com/blog/2006/07/29/gude-clouds-here/#comment-4712 Bev, my wife's mother will be 103 this November, and when we bring her out for the day from the nursing home, she often exclaims about the clouds which she so rarely sees. I think we can take the beauty of the sky for granted. Bev, my wife’s mother will be 103 this November, and when we bring her out for the day from the nursing home, she often exclaims about the clouds which she so rarely sees. I think we can take the beauty of the sky for granted.

]]> by: Peter http://magickcanoe.com/blog/2006/07/29/gude-clouds-here/#comment-4695 Sat, 29 Jul 2006 16:26:27 +0000 http://magickcanoe.com/blog/2006/07/29/gude-clouds-here/#comment-4695 Great story Bev. Whenever my relatives visited Canada for the first time from Holland they were always amazed at the size. I'm too young to remember, but my father tells me when he picked up my grandfasther in Toronto and drove back to Kingston, he thought that was half way across the country, until shown on a map just how far he'd gone. I know that not what the story was about, I was just reminded of it. Did you ever visit "That Dutchmans Farm"? I think it is near Parrsboro. He (Willem) is a naturalist and excellent Gouda maker. I've been meaning to go. http://thatdutchmansfarm.com/ Great story Bev.

Whenever my relatives visited Canada for the first time from Holland they were always amazed at the size. I’m too young to remember, but my father tells me when he picked up my grandfasther in Toronto and drove back to Kingston, he thought that was half way across the country, until shown on a map just how far he’d gone.

I know that not what the story was about, I was just reminded of it.

Did you ever visit “That Dutchmans Farm”? I think it is near Parrsboro. He (Willem) is a naturalist and excellent Gouda maker. I’ve been meaning to go.

http://thatdutchmansfarm.com/

]]>