The Dragon of Moody Bridge Road

Photo by Brian LeClair
Taken along the border of Amherst & Hadley

This photo by Brian LeClair is a once-in-a-blue-moon capture. Not only is the lightning bolt perfectly framed (thank you, Mother Nature!), but the cumulonimbus source of that strike tells its own story. Looked at in a certain way, and the cloud is clearly a dragon. (I promise you, this is not a manufactured, photoshopped image.) 

This was the featured photo for August in the 2017 Head in the Clouds Amherst wall calendar. Taken along the border of Amherst and Hadley, Brian titled this photo “The Dragon of Moody Bridge Road.” Feeling inspired to find your own lightning bolt? The next few days promise thunderstorms, so you may have an opportunity – but, as always, safety first. Jury is out on what Brian was doing at the time of this strike, but let’s pretend he was shooting through a window, from inside a house. 

Yeah, probably not…..!

Brief remedy for a heatwave

Photo by Joshua Wolfsun

“What dreadful hot weather we have! It keeps me in a continual state of inelegance.”  ~  Jane Austen

In lieu of a photo of clouds today (cloud shots rarely do a good job of conveying extreme heat), I'm posting, instead, this "cooling" photo by Joshua Wolfsun. Taken along the shore in Iceland, it is the perfect visual antidote to a scorching summer day. (Literally submerging in water helps, too!)

Consider, for a moment, that this black sand, basalt stone-strewn beach was once molten lava. 

Morning at Bramble Hill Farm

Early Spring Morning at Bramble Hill Farm, Amherst
Photographer: Meg Wright

What is it about May? Looking back at featured photos for this month over the past eight years of Head in the Clouds Amherst wall calendars was like skipping through soft flowery meadows, gazing out on expanses of light green grassy fields, and lying back and watching cloud animals move lazily across an endless sky. And still, this photo by Meg Wright stood out as a particularly perfect embodiment of all that is May and more. Titled “Early Spring Morning at Bramble Hill Farm,” this was the featured photo for May in our 2018 calendar. 

Just like this, may all your mornings this month be misty beautiful and full of promise. 

Thank you, Baer

"Falling Down" - North East Street, Amherst
Photo by Baer Tierkel

This must be

   my birthday there

      in paradise

~ Gasan Jōseki's death poem, c. 1320 BCE

 

Our community lost Baer Tierkel yesterday, a man who was generous in every way, a true mensch, joyful, a leader, a devoted husband and father, and a friend to so many. He lived life to its fullest. You will hear many accolades in the days to come, and we would like to add one more - he was also an amazing, talented photographer. This image of Baer's was the featured photo for November in the 2016 Head in the Clouds Amherst calendar. In just one photograph, he managed to tell the entire story of fall in New England, from the brilliant colors of the hills in the distance, to the sunflowers in the foreground, well past harvest, bowing to the inevitable passage of the season. He titled this photo, very simply, "Falling Down."

Thank you for bringing us the world through your eyes and your spirit, Baer. Your "birthday there in paradise" must surely be a whole community, New Orleans-style second line celebration. 🎺🎷🎻

What do you think you see, Linus?

Cloudspotting over Hadley, 2/23/2022
Photo by Sharon Vardatira

“Aren't the clouds beautiful? They look like big balls of cotton... I could just lie here all day, and watch them drift by... If you use your imagination, you can see lots of things in the cloud formations... What do you think you see, Linus?"

"Well, those clouds up there look like the map of the British Honduras on the Caribbean... That cloud up there looks a little like the profile of Thomas Eakins, the famous painter and sculptor... And that group of clouds over there gives me the impression of the stoning of Stephen... I can see the apostle Paul standing there to one side..."

"Uh huh... That's very good... What do you see in the clouds, Charlie Brown?"

"Well, I was going to say I saw a ducky and a horsie, but I changed my mind!”

― Charles M. Schulz, The Complete Peanuts, Vol. 5: 1959-1960

My Impulsive Feet

Rob Barke - Holme-next-the-Sea, Norfolk, England - 2/19/2022

I follow my impulsive feet wherever they might go

my body is a pine tree surrounded by the snow

sometimes I simply stand beside a flowing stream

sometimes I chase a drifting cloud past another peak

~ Poem by Hanshan 

Legendary figure honored as a Bodhisattva in Zen mythology

(fl. ninth century C.E., Chinese Tang Dynasty)

Photo is by Cloud Appreciation Society member and friend of Head in the Clouds Amherst, Rob Barke. Rob captured this stormy scene earlier today near the village of Holme-next-the-Sea, Norfolk, England. Storms have been pummeling the U.K and parts of Europe, but as Rob notes, "Above the clouds the sun is always shining." Just beautiful!

Kenan Coverage

You gotta hand it to The Weather Channel. For pure entertainment value (or is it just me?) they are keeping it jumping across the eastern seaboard. Of course, there's Jim Cantore being wind blasted in Boston, but I am also duly impressed and riveted by others (more below). Yes, things are significantly calmer here in Amherst, but with near-hurricane force winds bearing down in Boston (and earlier South Shore and other coastal locations), there's a lot to experience vicariously. It's a truly impressive broadcast/coordination effort - the network is seamlessly handing off to meteorologists in about two dozen blizzard locations. 

As expected, Jim Cantore is slaying the commentary from downtown Boston today - "YOU CAN'T SEE ANY OF THAT, YOU CAN'T SEE ANY OF THAT!" (referring to buildings on State Street) - but there are other Weather Channel meteorologists to watch for:

• Felicia Combs - she's situated in Montauk, New York (Long Island) and is superb at describing every aspect of this storm, from what wind driven surf feels like, to being stranded in a car, etc. She just never runs out of ways to talk about the situation. Also, she's from Macon, Georgia, so it's fun hearing her marvel on just how extreme it feels to be in the midst of a blizzard. She's "oh, wow," like an innocent to our weather, and then proceeds to show her real weather chops (just in case you thought she was a mere neophyte to blizzards or the weather world). 
• Tevin Wooten - he's in New York City, where things aren't that wild, but he managed to demonstrate how light and "not sticky" the snow was this morning by trying to "dunk" a snowball (it just fell apart). And then he said something like, "I can't dunk like Lebron James, but I CAN talk weather." And then he proceeded to do just that. 

There's some amazing talent out there, meteorologists you don't always see up front and center.

And that's just a start. Props to the weather forecasters - people love to complain about the forecast, but a lot of lives are saved (and entertained) on days like these, thanks to folks like them.

Sub-zero to mid-40s, with snow, rain and ice (that's New England!)

UPDATED AT 10:30 AM SUNDAY, 1/16

STORM SUMMARY for Amherst/Pelham and nearby areas (initial post at 3 AM, Sunday):

The outdoor thermometer reads just 1°F at 3 am in Amherst right now, and if you aren't sound asleep, you are likely consumed with piling on the covers, while turning your attention to our Sunday/Monday storm. The news is so saturated with weather coverage, it's easy to miss one very key point - namely impacts will vary significantly depending on where you're located. Here in the Pioneer Valley (in and around Amherst) it will certainly be messy - but we won't get the most snow or the highest winds. In fact, we are forecast to get a turnover to rain with rising temps on Monday. How much those temps actually rise remains to be seen. It is not uncommon, particularly after extreme cold snaps like we are having, for surface cold to hang on longer than predicted in the Valley. We can end up having our own localized temperature inversion where cold air stays trapped at the surface with warmer air at higher elevations. Sometimes this phenomenon can affect relatively tiny pockets. For example, temps can be in the low 40s in Hadley, while a few miles away, at Puffer's Pond in Amherst, it's still icing with temps not budging past 32. So, in short, be prepared for everything with this upcoming event: snow, sleet, freezing rain, and rain, roughly in that order.

Here are the main forecast takeaways for Western MA:

1. A Winter Storm Warning is now in effect for Western Franklin, Western Hampshire, Western Hampden Counties of Massachusetts from 12 AM tonight to 12 PM Monday for 6-12" of snow with snowfall rates of 2" per hour and wind gusts to 40 mph (Amherst is in Eastern Hampshire, so this Storm Watch only applies to points to our west and north, at higher elevations.)

2. A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect from Midnight tonight to 7 AM Monday for Eastern Franklin County Massachusetts for 3-5" of wet snow and is also in effect for Northern Connecticut, Eastern Hampshire, Eastern Hampden, Southern Worcester, and Central Middlesex Counties of Massachusetts for 1-4" of snow and a light glaze of ice.

3. The current storm track will bring a front-end thump of snow to Western MA - including an estimated 1-3" of snow to Amherst and areas nearby. Snow is forecast to start around midnight, followed by a turnover to all rain between 3-6 AM and temps up to 42°F by mid-day Monday. Given the cold ground temps we could still be dealing with a glaze of ice by the morning commute. How long icing lingers is the question. As I said, weather forecasts tend to underestimate the degree to which cold temps hang around in discrete parts of the Valley.

Fingers crossed the temps really do climb as quickly as predicted. But keep your ice cleats handy, just in case.

Stay warm, safe and have a cozy Sunday.

Whirling of the Celestial

Photo by Joshua Wolfsun, taken at Puffer's Pond on 12/26/2021

Strepsiades: Who makes the thunder that makes me shake in terror?

Socrates: It is just the Clouds rocking in the sky.

Strepsiades: Is nothing sacred! How do they do that?

Socrates: Simple. When they become completely saturated with moisture, they are forced by Necessity to begin to oscillate to and fro. Every now and again they ram each other and of course, being packed with precipitation, CRASH! A cloudburst!

Strepsiades: But surely someone must force them to move in the first place. That must be Zeus.

Socrates: Not at all, it is the whirling of the Celestial.

~ From The Clouds, a play by Aristophanes first performed in 423 BC (some 2,444 years ago) at the Festival of Dionysia, Athens, Greece. Translated by Peter Meineck

Contemplating the passage of time - and the passage of clouds - on this first day of the year. I feel certain our endless grey stratus clouds will break sometime soon, yielding to a glorious blue and white tableau. 

Wishing all friends of Head in the Clouds Amherst a wonderful 2022, with abundant, inspiring, and beautiful clouds to spark your imagination! 

Happy New Year!

Battening down the hatches (when you aren't in a boat)

Summer Storm over Hadley
Photo by Sharon Vardatira

The powerful cold front responsible for the major severe weather outbreak that devastated parts of Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas and Illinois (among other areas) overnight will sweep through Southern New England later this afternoon through Sunday morning. While we won’t see anywhere near that level of severity here, the front will bring the potential for strong to damaging winds, heavy rain, and thunderstorms. A Wind Advisory is now in effect from 1 PM this afternoon until 5 AM Sunday morning for our area and much of Southern New England. We are forecasted to get 25-35 MPH winds with gusts to 50 MPH (and some isolated higher gusts possible). These winds could cause isolated to scattered pockets of tree and wire damage and power outages.

I don’t know about you, but when I first heard thunder earlier this morning I leaped into action, battening down the metaphorical hatches (washing dishes, tending to laundry, bringing mail inside, and moving lighter objects off the porch). Bringing in the mail may have been most critical – I could do a collage of weather-related mailbox devastation over the years. 

Mailbox microburst takedown (past storm)
Photo by Sharon Vardatira

By the way, one of the tornadoes that struck overnight may have set the record for the longest continuous tornado in American recorded history – the path is still to be confirmed, but it appears to have stretched some 250 miles. The stories and first-person accounts coming out this morning are harrowing – our hearts go out to everyone whose lives have been so tragically upended.

Snow Globe December

Spring Can Wait, It's Just a Date
Enfield Mods, Hampshire College, Amherst
Photographer: James Patten

This classic winter scene, captured by Jim Patten, is the featured photo for December in the 2021 Head in the Clouds Amherst wall calendar. In fact, the jury liked the image so much it was also selected to grace the cover of the entire calendar! As Jim observed, “I loved how the colors were still popping through on the buildings as the snow was really coming down. It was like someone shook a snow globe.” Enjoy!

Far Horizon Fading

Hay Bales at Sunset - Photo by Sharon Vardatira
November 2021, Sunderland MA

 

Through the ample open door of the peaceful country barn.

A sunlit pasture field with cattle and horses feeding,

And haze and vista, and the far horizon fading away.

~ Walt Whitman

May you find much to be grateful for today. Happy Thanksgiving to all the cloud spotters!

Goat with Pumpkin - Photo by Sharon Vardatira
November 2021, Sunderland MA

Do cloudy days bring out the color?

Fall foliage in rain - Deerfield, MA
Photo by Sharon Vardatira

The question is not what you look at, but what you see.

 ~ Henry David Thoreau

Every year around this time, our perennial household debate: do fall foliage colors "pop" more when it's sunny or when it's cloudy? I submit for your consideration this photo, which I took yesterday during a lull in the downpours. Despite Western Massachusetts being well past peak now, this stand of orange trees under a grey stratus sky was utterly attention grabbing. Indeed, I was not the only person compelled to pull off the road and grab her camera. No surprise, then, that I land firmly on the side of "cloudy days bring out the colors." That said, I am not immune to the glory of sunlight slanting through the leaves.

Blue Heron in Fall Color at Cranberry Pond

Blue Heron in Fall Color at Cranberry Pond
Leverett/Shutesbury
Photo by Eric M. Berlin

Sometimes a photo submission just cannot be denied. That was the case with this photo, the featured image for November in our 2021 Head in the Clouds Amherst calendar. It violated one of our key cornerstone guidelines about images having to depict a recognizable location (close-ups rarely provide a sense of "place,"), but the jury was so taken with the photo they opted to override the guidance. 

Titled "Blue Heron in Fall Color at Cranberry Pond" (Leverett/Shutesbury), this photo was taken by Eric M. Berlin. This image did not come easily. As Eric describes, “I spent several days trying to capture this heron in the context of fall color. I consistently failed to get low enough to get the foliage in the background until I realized this composition.” 

Enjoy!