Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Thursday Thirteen ~ Clouds

13 Facts About Clouds

1. Paintings are common enough that there is a name for the artists’ works – cloudscapes.

2. There are a tremendous number of names and classifications. Many of these can occur together in the same stretch of sky.

3. Irisation is a type of rainbow affect from the sun named after Iris, Greek goddess of rainbows.

4. There actually exists a cloud appreciation society. You can find their website here: Cloud Appreciation Society.

5. Morning Glory clouds are rare most places except for the southern part of Northern Australia’s Gulf of Carpentaria. Glider plane pilots are actually attracted to the location to “surf” these cylindrical clouds. Here’s an image of several:















6. A cloud field is the name for a group of them but these can also have their own classification.

7. Cloud Feedback is the name for the interaction between the cloud cover and ground surface air temperatures. The temperature can alter the cloud formations which in turn can change the temperature.

8. Pilots should know the names of clouds and how they pertain to the weather. A friend of mine could always identify them from his private piloting days. It’s a fond memory of him now that he’s passed away.

9. Earth is not alone in having clouds. Any moon or planet with an atmosphere can have them.

10. Liquid methane is thought to make up the clouds of Titan, Saturn’s moon.

11. Fog can be a result of the lowest clouds, called stratus, contacting the ground.

12. Most clouds form in that part of the atmosphere called the troposphere. A few occur as high as the stratosphere and beyond that middle layer to the mesosphere.

13. Iridescence is an uncommon phenomenon caused by uniform water droplets caught by the light of the sun or moon. Here’s a picture:

Monday, December 20, 2010

The Hunt

Calm tracks in the snow
Water drips; icicles melt
The cat hunts his bird
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Sunday, December 19, 2010

Captured Attention

The cardinal leaps
Tiny avalanche - silent
The writer looks out 
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Saturday, December 18, 2010

Snow Day

Songbirds mostly stilled
Wind whistles from western skies
Snow rules all this day

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Thursday, December 16, 2010

Thursday Thirteen - Dekotora

Having recently heard of these decorated trucks, I was happy to have found a good selection of photos on Pink Tentacle. Here are thirteen right off of that website.



1. Blinding is the only word that comes to mind.

 




2. Love the dinoasaur theme!
















3. That's a lot of chrome






















4. I wonder what these additions cost


5. Do truck stops bother with overhead lights?






6. I wouldn't want to put anything in this beauty

















7. This reminds me of a slot machine somehow





















8. Can you imagine a parade of these things?

















9. I can't imagine this clearing a bump in the road





















10. Is this really street legal?
















11. Hitting deer must not be a fear for these drivers





















12. I'd love to see these going down American freeways!
















13. This rivals the Las Vegas strip

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Versatile Blogger Award

I was just awarded the Versatile Blogger Award by the talented Janice Seagraves! Thank you, dear. It means a lot that you would think of me.

If you haven't been there, dear reader, please visit her website: Janice's Home

Here are the rules:
1. Share 7 things about yourself
2. Pass The Award to 15 bloggers recently discovered (or however many you can manage).
3. Notify the blogger recipients.
4. Link The blogger who gave the award.

So, here are seven things about me:
1. I am studying Japanese and finding that I still know only a fraction of the beautiful language.
2. My favorite color is purple but it really doesn't look that good on me.
3. A dream of mine is to open a ryokan in Japan. I imagine a bed and breakfast welcoming tourists from abroad.
4. As an asthmatic, my biggest trigger used to be cats. Now I have more than one! Modern medication is wonderful.
5. A Catherine Noon is the author who got me started on blogging. I'm still influenced every day by her attitude and enthusiasm.
6. I'm part of two group blogs besides two of my own.
7. I have a pet betta fish virtually alone in a ten gallon aquarium because a tiny tank just didn't seem right.

My list of award recipients follows. Please check them out!

A Catherine Noon

A B Gayle

Ally Blue

Nicole Gordon

A Bit of Sunshine

Fireman Pat

The Pack Rat's Nest

Eaton Bennett

Simple Observations

Jennifer Leeland

Robin L Rotham

Tatiana Caldwell

Word Trix

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