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.” 

July at The Homestead

The Homestead, Amherst MA
Photo by Sharon Vardatira

July's Head in the Clouds Amherst 2025 calendar photo brings us home—to The Homestead in Amherst, lifelong residence of Emily Dickinson. It’s a place where the sky often feels like part of the architecture.

All year, I had been striving to capture The Homestead under delicate, ‘hope-is-a-thing-with-feathers’ cirrus clouds. While I haven’t achieved that goal yet, it’s been a great excuse to drop everything and spend hours cloudspotting at The Homestead. I think Emily would approve.

Whether or not the clouds cooperate, time spent sky-gazing here always feels well spent. And who knows—maybe this summer will deliver the feathered cirrus scene I've been waiting for!