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Weather musings
Nov. 18th, 2006 04:37 pmI know that I'm not the only person around here who enjoys the season of autumn with its changeable weather full of cloudy dramatic skies which contrast with the colours of the leaves. As I was driving a lot this week I had ample opportunity to witness the changing of nature and I've been wondering why I'm so captivated by this time.
I've decided it's partly because of the light - the sun is low, the shadows are sharp and angular and while it can get really dark when it's pouring down with rain, once the cloud cover breaks the light seems even brighter and somehow fresh and new.
It's the sky, too. Frankly, a blue summer sky is boring and flat. An autumn sky has layers and many colours. There are the big white clouds travelling fast with patches of various shades of blue behind them ranging from a sort of turquoise to a dark azure. At the same time, turn around and you'll see a blueblack mass of storm brewing. When it's windy, the sun is obscured by the clouds but in the distance you'll see that some areas are lit up with light of an unreal quality. You know it's only a matter of time that the same light will reach you and the trees around you will explode with colour.
I love the various shades of green you can see in spring and in summer and the gold of sunbaked fields, but there's something special to seeing a whole row of trees glowing with yellow leaves especially when lit up from behind. The fields are a dark brown and show the regular lines that the farmer's equipment has left behind. Some trees have already shed their leaves, some are an explosion of dark red and yellow looking like they're on fire while others still hold onto the green.
Pictures don't do this kind of weather any justice - you need to feel the wind and smell the rotting leaves and the brown wet earth. The ones that follow are just a little reminder for me what autumn means for the time when all the leaves are gone and the sky stays grey for the whole day.
( Autumn )
I've decided it's partly because of the light - the sun is low, the shadows are sharp and angular and while it can get really dark when it's pouring down with rain, once the cloud cover breaks the light seems even brighter and somehow fresh and new.
It's the sky, too. Frankly, a blue summer sky is boring and flat. An autumn sky has layers and many colours. There are the big white clouds travelling fast with patches of various shades of blue behind them ranging from a sort of turquoise to a dark azure. At the same time, turn around and you'll see a blueblack mass of storm brewing. When it's windy, the sun is obscured by the clouds but in the distance you'll see that some areas are lit up with light of an unreal quality. You know it's only a matter of time that the same light will reach you and the trees around you will explode with colour.
I love the various shades of green you can see in spring and in summer and the gold of sunbaked fields, but there's something special to seeing a whole row of trees glowing with yellow leaves especially when lit up from behind. The fields are a dark brown and show the regular lines that the farmer's equipment has left behind. Some trees have already shed their leaves, some are an explosion of dark red and yellow looking like they're on fire while others still hold onto the green.
Pictures don't do this kind of weather any justice - you need to feel the wind and smell the rotting leaves and the brown wet earth. The ones that follow are just a little reminder for me what autumn means for the time when all the leaves are gone and the sky stays grey for the whole day.
( Autumn )
