Angel, mermaid, or something else?

Sky over Granby MA, 2/10/2026
Photo by Barb Hahn

Head in the Clouds Amherst follower, Barb Hahn,shared this beautiful photo she took earlier this week, and I just had to pass it along.

What does it look like to you?

Barb sees an angel, and her friend says it looks like a mermaid with flowing hair. I’m seeing soft, feathery cirrocumulus high up in the atmosphere.

Cirrocumulus clouds often form in winter when moist air rises high into the cold upper levels of the atmosphere, where supercooled water droplets gather into tiny ripples and cloudlets before freezing into ice crystals.

Now I’m curious -- angel, mermaid… or something else entirely?

(And thank you for sharing, Barb - we always love seeing the clouds through other people's lenses!)

Finding Middle-earth in Amherst

Photo by James Patten (originally featured
in the 2024 Head in the Clouds Amherst calendar)

This featured photo for February in the 2026 Head in the Clouds Amherst wall calendar comes from Jim Patten, who captured this scene at Hampshire College in Amherst.

At first glance, you might think Jim had been wandering around Middle-earth rather than a college campus when he came upon this moment. What drew the jury to this image is its otherworldly, almost mythic quality — an everyday maple transformed, a doorway into another world.

In a winter that has been unrelentingly cold, this photograph feels especially well-timed. The fog blurs the boundaries, and the landscape offers a brief mental escape — proof that even when February is at its most stubborn, our surroundings can still surprise us.

Here’s to finding small portals out of the deep freeze when we need them most.

From "Bob, the Ugly Squirrel"

One of the quiet gifts of creating 𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐶𝑙𝑜𝑢𝑑𝑠 𝐴𝑚ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑡 has been discovering where it travels – and who it keeps company with.

I recently received a handwritten letter from 𝐁𝐨𝐛 𝐏𝐚𝐮𝐥, a longtime reader and friend of the calendar, writing from California. Bob has written before about how he uses our wall calendar as a companion for looking up – especially when the sky has something special to offer.

Bob shared this account of a mid-December night he recently spent watching the Geminids meteor shower:

𝐈 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐬. 𝐃𝐞𝐜. 𝟏𝟐–𝟏𝟒 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐚 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐬…

𝟏𝟎𝟎 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐚𝐧 𝐃𝐢𝐞𝐠𝐨, 𝟐𝟎 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐥 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨. 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐎𝐜𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐨 – 𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞.

𝟏:𝟐𝟎 𝐀𝐌 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝟏𝟎𝟎% 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲. 𝐆𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 – 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐤𝐲 𝐖𝐚𝐲. 𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐭 - 𝐝𝐨𝐠 - 𝐎𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐁𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐒𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬. 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐤𝐲.

𝐀𝐭 𝟐:𝟐𝟎 𝐀𝐌 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝟏𝟎𝟎! 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐨 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐈 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬… 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐮𝐩.

𝟓𝟕°. 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭.

(And then, with a sign-off that still makes me smile: "𝐵𝑜𝑏, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑢𝑔𝑙𝑦 𝑠𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑙.")

I love this letter not just for its poetry and precision, but for what it represents – someone far from the Valley, standing on the side of a road in the dark, counting meteors, orienting himself by constellations, using the sky as both map and meaning.

That’s what Head in the Clouds Amherst has always hoped to be: an invitation to notice. To be curious. To step outside, literally or figuratively, and look up.

As we head into 2026, my wish for all of us is simple: may you find moments like Bob’s. Clear skies. Unexpected beauty. And reasons to pause, tilt your head back, and remember you’re part of something vast and wonderful.

Here’s to a new year full of clouds, stars, stories – and the people who take the time to notice them.

(Alas, I did not take this photo of the Geminds over the desert southwest, but I like to think this is what Bob was seeing. Credit: ABC News)

Echoes of celebration

South Pleasant Street & The Amherst Town Common, Amherst MA
Photo by Joshua Wolfsun

This featured photo for January – and the opening image of the 2026 Head in the Clouds Amherst calendar – comes from Joshua Wolfsun, who photographed this scene along South Pleasant Street and the Amherst Town Common.

I’ve always loved how Joshua captured this early January dawn: holiday lights still sparkling, their glow reflected on icy streets. The scene feels both rare and familiar, holding that fleeting moment when the old year has passed but the echoes of celebration still linger.

For 2026, the final edition of our calendar, the jury selected their favorite images from more than a decade of past calendars rather than issuing an open call. This photograph originally appeared as the December image in our 2018 calendar, though it was actually taken just after the New Year – which feels exactly right for a scene suspended between endings and beginnings. ✨❄️

Behind-the-scenes

A little behind-the-scenes moment this morning from Head in the Clouds Amherst that made me smile – and also felt worth sharing, as we head into the last days of December and the very beginning of the new year.

Here’s a note I received at 7:30 am from a would-be calendar buyer who was writing to cancel their order:

“Hi so sorry I got excited about the local flavor and bought this, and immediately got scolded by my wife because she needs our calendar to have empty days for writing stuff in. If I can cancel, I'd appreciate it. Sorry for false alarm!”

And here was my reply:

“Hi there – not to worry. I am happy to cancel your order. Please reassure your wife that all is well, no money wasted. This definitely isn't a calendar for anyone who wants to use it as a planner. Rather, it's for weather- and history-curious folks who like to entertain themselves (and everyone around them) with obscure but fascinating weather tidbits, like when Factory Hollow in North Amherst was hit by a tornado in the 1800s, what Massachusetts weather greeted the Mayflower in 1620, or what day in the fall was supremely beautiful in 2025. It's all good.”

And honestly? That pretty much sums it up. 😄

This calendar is not for scheduling dentist appointments or soccer practice. It’s for people who love this place, who look up at the sky a little too often, who enjoy knowing what came before and noticing what’s happening right now.

As of today (December 30), there are just a handful left – about half a dozen – and once they’re gone, that’s it forever, as 2026 is our last year. If you’ve been on the fence, or if you know someone who would enjoy a year of local skies, strange weather history, and Valley beauty… now’s the moment. Order through Etsy: https://etsy.me/4sjv2UN

Thanks, as always, for following along – and for being the kind of community that appreciates “local flavor,” even when it earns a gentle scolding at home. ☁️💙

Worth the Wait

 Silvio O. Conte National Wildlife Refuge, Hadley MA
Photo by Jennifer Murphy

December’s featured photo in the 2025 Head in the Clouds Amherst wall calendar comes from Jennifer Murphy, who captured this glowing sunrise at the Silvio O. Conte National Wildlife Refuge in Hadley.

Jennifer shared: 

I love getting up and out early to explore - especially when I’m rewarded with a sunrise like this. Our valley produces the best art!

This image feels like December distilled: the wooden boardwalk leading us forward, frost-muted fields resting on either side, and a sky briefly ablaze before the day fully wakes. It’s a reminder that even in the shortest, coldest days, beauty still arrives right on time.

(And yes… I may be a bit late sharing this one, but some skies are worth waiting for.)

Shop Local, Stay Grounded (Even with Your Head in the Clouds!)

Amherst Books window display, 11/28/2025
(2026 Head in the Clouds Amherst Calendar front and center!)

If you’ve been following the news, you’ve probably seen the calls to skip the big-box stores right now. Honestly? Around here, we’ve always known the real magic happens in our locally owned spots anyway. 

Case in point: Amherst Books -- the very first store that ever carried the Head in the Clouds Amherst calendar, way back at the beginning, when it was just a quirky little idea involving too many sunrise photos and not enough sleep.

And this year? They’ve put the 2026 edition front and center in their gorgeous window display! (I mean… look at it. I’m verklempt.)

So if you’re out and about downtown, wander over to Amherst Books and show them (and all our small businesses!) some love. Pick up our calendar, browse the shelves, find an unexpected treasure, take in that perfect indie-bookstore vibe. You know the one.

Not in Amherst or want to send a calendar as a gift? You can still order yours for mailing directly through Etsy at: https://www.etsy.com/listing/730125686/2026-head-in-the-clouds-amherst-wall

Let’s keep our dollars local, our community strong, and our heads happily in the clouds. ☁️💙🌄

October’s Featured Photo

Connecticut River - Hadley, Massachusetts
Photo by Suzanne Warren

The October featured photo in the 2025 Head in the Clouds Amherst wall calendar was captured by Suzanne Warren. Taken along the Connecticut River at the Alexandra Dawson Conservation Area in Hadley, the photo reveals the soft drama of a changing season - vibrant foliage along the river bank, beneath a sky full of motion. Even in more subdued autumns, beauty still finds its way into the light. 

Suzanne writes: “On a whim, I took North Lane on my way to work. Despite having no time to spare, I had to stop and capture the brilliant autumn colors along the river beneath the dramatic sky.”

It’s a perfect reminder that sometimes the most breathtaking views appear when we take a moment to pause.

This photo also graces the cover of our 2025 calendar! It’s just a hint of what’s to come in the 2026 “Best of Head in the Clouds Amherst” calendar -- available now!

Don’t miss your chance to bring scenes like this home for the year ahead.

👉 Link to view or purchase our 2026 calendar on Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/listing/730125686/2026-head-in-the-clouds-amherst-wall

2026 Head in the Clouds Amherst Wall Calendar — Now Available (Final Edition!)

Calendar Cover - Photo by Brittany Wolcott

GIVE THE GIFT OF A NEW YEAR 

 with the all new

2026 Head in the Clouds Amherst Wall Calendar

Order online for delivery by mail

$22.00 per calendar ON SALE NOW FOR $16.50

Free shipping with a purchase of 3 calendars or more

Open the calendar on 2026 and celebrate the seasons of one of the most beautiful corners of the world — from the farmlands to the rivers, lakes, hills, and trails of Western Massachusetts.

    This twelfth and final edition is especially meaningful:

• 12 favorite images revisited. Instead of our usual open call for photos, this year our jury looked back across more than a decade of calendars and selected twelve “favorites” from past editions — images that carried that extra spark of feeling, place, and season. (Scroll below to view all pages)
• Over 260 daily almanac entries highlighting astronomical, historical, weather, and meteorological events in Amherst and New England from 1620-2025.
• A true collector’s edition marking the last chapter in more than a decade of Head in the Clouds Amherst calendars.

   Specifications:

• 17" X 11" (full size when open)
• Saddle stitch binding
• High quality coated gloss, heavyweight paper
• Shrink wrapped

Where to Buy

Purchase ONLINE at ETSY: http://bit.ly/42jAjAy

In person at Amherst Books:
8 Main Street on the Common, downtown Amherst.
Phone: (800) 503-5865. Amherst Books is a locally owned, independent bookshop offering poetry, literature, philosophy, small press titles, gifts for readers, and more.

Local Pick-Up:
For questions, special requests, and to arrange pick-up in North Amherst (payment via Venmo or check), email Sharon at CloudsAmherst[@]gmail[.]com.

This final Head in the Clouds Amherst Wall Calendar is the perfect gift for cloud spotters, nature lovers, photographers, artists, students near and far, locals, and former residents longing for a taste of home. Month after month, it’s a love letter to our Valley — and a way to keep its beauty close all year long. 

A heartfelt thanks to the many friends, photographers, and supporters who’ve sustained this project over the years. Your enthusiasm and loyalty have made twelve years of calendars possible — and unforgettable.

Franklin County, looking northwest
Photo by Brittany Wolcott

South Pleasant Street & Amherst Town Common
Photo by Joshua Wolfsun

Hampshire College, Amherst
Photo by James Patten

Campus Pond at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Photo by Ellen Finkelstein

Amherst Town Hall
Photo by John Snyder

Bramble Hill Farm, Amherst
Photo by Meg Wright

Farm Stand on North East Street, Amherst
Photo by Mindy Domb

Sky view during 2016 Amherst July 4th Celebration & Fireworks, UMass Amherst
Photo by Marian Wolfsun

Amherst Bicycle Exchange, University Drive, Amherst
Photo by Andy Churchill

Tobacco Barn, Sunderland
Photo by Annie Tvetenstrand

Franklin County, looking northwest
Photo by Brittany Wolcott

Silvio O. Conte National Fish & Wildlife Refuge, Hadley
Photo by Jennifer Murphy

Robert Frost Trail by Cushman Brook, Amherst
Photo by Sharon Vardatira

\

Back Cover

Cloudscrolling = Joyscrolling

Sichuan, China - from the Cloud Appreciation Society's
2026 Memory Cloud Atlas

I’ve spent much of today reviewing/approving photos submitted from around the world to the Memory Cloud Atlas. Each entry comes with a view of the sky, but often also a reflection or feeling shared by the person who captured it. So far, I've approved every entry - they've all been clouds, with many people describing being happy, inspired, uplifted, etc. by what they are seeing in the sky.

This photo is from Sichuan, China - I'm not posting it because it’s the best photo I've seen (many are extraordinary), but simply because, randomly, it spoke to me. The person added some words in Chinese, which, happily, I was able to use Google Translate to understand. They wrote, “The sunset is beautiful, but it is near dusk.” So beautiful. I had to read it over several times. 

Scrolling through hundreds of these images feels like the opposite of doomscrolling. I choose to call it "joyscrolling." 🌍☁️

If you’re curious, you can explore the Atlas here: https://www.memorycloudatlas.org/

You don’t need to post a photo—just enjoy the clouds, and the joy.

#CloudAppreciationDay #Joyscrolling #MemoryCloudAtlas

Listen to the Clouds

Photo by Brittany Wolcott
Maine, August 2025

When I began to listen to poetry, it's when I began to listen to the stones, and I began to listen to what the clouds had to say, and I began to listen to others. And I think, most importantly for all of us, then you begin to learn to listen to the soul, the soul of yourself in here, which is also the soul of everyone else.    ~ Joy Harjo

Brittany Wolcott is the photographer behind these luminous photos, taken while she was spending time in Maine. It feels like a visual echo of Harjo’s words - listening to clouds, water, and light, all whispering the quiet language of connection.

Thank you for bringing us into your world, Brittany!

Photo by Brittany Wolcott
Maine, August 2025

August's Drama in the Sky

Holyoke Range, Massachusetts
Photo by Linda Repasky

This month’s Head in the Clouds Amherst 2025 calendar photo comes from Linda Repasky, who observed, “Low-hanging clouds over the Holyoke Range added a touch of drama as they dwarfed a vast cornfield and nearby farmhouse. Wild weather is one of summer’s delights!”

We couldn’t agree more. Here, the clouds are the main character, the mountain their stage, and the farmhouse just a quiet witness to nature’s oversized performance.

Thank you, Linda, for reminding us how small we are under skies like these.

Cirrus Season

Cirrus uncinus (Mares' Tails) over UMass Amherst
Photo by Sharon Vardatira, 7/18/2025

Cirrus sprites + intortus + cirrocumulus mash-up
Photo by Sharon Vardatira, 7/18/2025

The sky was putting on a full performance today -- featuring a spectacular cast of cirrus clouds in all their wispy forms: fibratus, intortus, uncinus (aka the ever-dramatic "mares’ tails").

Even a few contrails joined in -- technically jet exhaust, but once they’re tossed and twisted by the upper winds, they start to pass as cirrus themselves. Nature and machine, blurring at altitude.

Whatever you call them, the skies were doing their thing. And we were watching.

#HeadInTheCloudsAmherst #CirrusFibratus #CirrusUncinus #CirrusIntortus #Cloudspotting #NotTooSeriousButVeryReal

A sky full of cirrocumulus, contrails, and
blended cirrus fibratus/uncinus
Photo by Sharon Vardatira - 7/18/2025

The photo to the right shows a sky full of cirrocumulus, contrails, and blended cirrus fibratus/uncinus. Even seasoned cloudspotters sometimes mistake contrails for clouds. So how do we know that the "V-shape" cloudlets in this image are not cirrus clouds, but actually the remnants of a few contrails that have been buffeted by the wind? First, the sharp, clean V-formation suggests two straight-line trails diverging or converging, which is much more typical of aircraft paths than of natural atmospheric motion. Second, cirrus clouds rarely form in such distinct intersecting paths unless guided by upper-level wind shear or merging cloud bands, and even then, they tend to curve more gently. The lines in this image are more deliberate. And, finally, supporting evidence in the image: There are other wisps and trails in that photo that also resemble contrails, suggesting it was a high-traffic day aloft, with plenty of jet-made features blending into the natural cirrus field.

“Hope” is the thing with feathers -

The Dickinson Homestead, Amherst MA
Photo by Sharon Vardatira - 7/18/2025

“Hope” is the thing with feathers -
That perches in the soul -
And sings the tune without the words -
And never stops - at all -

                               ~ Emily Dickinson

I’ve been chasing a photo of The Homestead with just the right cirrus clouds above - delicate, feathered, sky-scrawled wisps that might echo Dickinson’s most beloved metaphor. And today… it finally happened.

Not every sky cooperates, but this one did.

In a time when hope can feel like a fragile thing, it’s comforting to remember how quietly persistent it really is—“and never stops—at all.”