Friday, June 28, 2013

Oh, My...


.....perhaps
the third time is the charm.
I have had 
a difficult time here
on my blog.
Let's see what happens. 
I wanted to put some photos up
from last week...
clouds that moved in
without any wind...
just drifting in
like silent dirigibles...
a gathering of clouds
that I wanted to put a name to.





They eventually merged,
married and stayed the whole week,
blotting out the sun,
and raining down on us.
I got to thinking (Whew, who knew..think, me?)
about the group terms for clouds.
I have spent an inordinate amount of time
giving names to cloud gatherings.
I do think that it depends
on your weather,
what you hope for
and what you want.
If  your are uncomfortably hot,
you might call them 
a comfort of clouds,
a relief of clouds, 
or a shade of clouds.
If your day wants no clouds,
and you are going out
to revel in the sunshine,
you may as well call them
a curse of clouds,
a doom of clouds, 
or a danger of clouds.
There could also be a
prediction of clouds,
and a harbinger of clouds.
Barring anything else,
and if one wants to be whimsical,
a person could refer to them as
a cobbler, a clabber, a slurry,
a meringue, a punctuation,
a plump....
or a douche of clouds...
or we could all revert
to that lovely time of childhood
and find magic in those clouds...
dragons, sheep, faces and images
of the joys of life when young.

As it rained all week for the most part,
I went looking for color around here. 




This green above...is the same leaf in the photo below.
Behold the beauty and magic of both sides now.



Does not this little maple seed
with the one behind it
look like a glorious insect?
p.s.
a beautiful book of group terms...
real and fanciful,
An Exaltation of Larks...
by James Lipton
I had an old copy years ago..
what is more lyrical than
an exaltation of larks?
Makes me happy,
as those of you who visit here do...
taking the time to say hello... 
there is such joy in connection.
I give thanks for that...for you.
E.




13 comments:

Sirpa said...

Expressive clouds and wonderful colours!
Beautiful!

Susan T said...

Dearest E - I love your cloudy kingdom, we are cloudy here too but they are not nearly as pretty as yours. Thank you for your glorious bursts of colour , I have been too long amongst the drabs and long for bejewelled loveliness.

J & B said...

A GOOD MORNING ,it would be lovely to send your cloud names to the weather forecasters. I wouldn't mind a few marshmallow clouds in our area we almost have web feet!
On your bright side though love your close ups of colour
makes you see the foliage in a different way,just lovely

Anonymous said...

Oh!!
i DO love this post!!

i adore clouds and your naming
and Lipton's book.

Annie Cholewa said...

Dearest Ellen, here you go again, blogging as poetry. Just wonderful :D

Beetlebirdhare said...

Beautiful photos and words - as always : )

Anonymous said...

so enjoyed your cloud terminology! lately i've been delighted by the flummery of clouds gracing our skies.

Angy is my name. said...

Loved this post! I'm an avid cloud gazer and your images beckoned the description "almost like the northern lights" from my mind. My favourite collective noun is a Murder of Crows ... so very apt. ♥
PS - Thanks ever so much for your beautiful comment on my post about Madiba. XX

Ginnie said...

Well, you certainly found COLOR, Ellen ! What wonderful pictures and I love the cloud pictures too.
Where I live they brag about the Carolina Blue sky so I guess a group of clouds with it would be a caroling of white on blue.

Grammy Braxton said...

Ellen, you always write in such a beautiful way. I love the way you give words life. Beautiful clouds. We've had quite a few around here lately and it looks like we will be having more in the week to come.

That leaf is so oddly beautiful. Your words remind of me the song, "Both Sides Now". Boy, I'm getting old.

Hugs,
Sharon

Mona said...

I was enjoying your pictures, with my youngest sitting next to me. Oh, he thinks your puppies are so cute - and Look, mama, a butterfly!! I'm not sure he believed me, when I told him it was seeds, and not butterflies ... :)

Mona said...

I was enjoying your pictures, with my youngest sitting next to me. Oh, he thinks your puppies are so cute - and Look, mama, a butterfly!! I'm not sure he believed me, when I told him it was seeds, and not butterflies ... :)

Mrs. Micawber said...

Next time the clouds roll in I will be rolling your words over my tongue to find just the right name for them.

What a very lovely post, and those maple seeds are beautiful. :)