Monday, November, 20, 2023: My Favorite Things #3

Clouds!

Daily Diary, Day 1175: Last year, I wrote weather in general as a favorite thing, which should not be a surprise to any of you because I talk about the weather all the time in my posts. I am never sure whether this is because I am feeling nostalgic for growing in a climate that had seasons with very distinct weather, or if this is because I live in a place, San Diego, with few extremes in its climate, so the slightest changes seem even more remarkable.

Here is what I wrote last year: “I love when we have a fog that moves in at night and then slowly leaves in the morning. I love it when the wind picks up, sending our wind chimes ringing and palm fronds scuttling (although not during fire season.) I love the cool fall nights that turn a few of the trees into flames of red and give me the excuse to put on the flannel sheets—which probably should be on my favorite things list. I love the thunder and lightning that comes so infrequently that it is a very big deal (and unfortunately upsets our dog because she is so unused to it.) I love rain of all kinds, whether just drizzle or pouring down, maybe because it comes so infrequently.”

I ended that post with a few paragraphs about some unusual clouds I had seen that day, and this year I want to concentrate on clouds as my Favorite Thins #3. If I had the energy, or was writing that kind of substack, I would have done some research on clouds, about what makes them, what different kinds there are, etc. But I already go down too many rabbit holes in my fiction, particularly my historical fiction, so I refuse to go down any rabbit holes today.

I do think I decided to write about clouds this year because the last few days we have had such lovely, strange, unusual clouds. I am guessing (but not researching) that these clouds are being created by rapid shifting back and forth between late autumn Santa Ana weather patters (wind from the desert, sunny during the day, cold at night, extraordinarily clear skies) and the mist, drizzle and even a little rain, which are probably a harbinger of a rainy El Nino winter.

However, whatever their cause, the extraordinary clouds that have been showing up for days have been bringing me much joy, and reminding me that clouds are one of my favorite things.

Here are a some for your pleasure,.

This first one is a sunset from earlier in the week.

This is taken from my backyard Sunday afternoon looking north.

And here is one taken same time, looking south west.

And here is a shot my husband took on his first walk on Sunday- doesn’t it look like there is a fire barreling down on us!

Followed by a panorama he took on his second walk.

So what is your favorite kind of weather!

---

In case you aren’t sure how you got here, I’m Mary Louisa Locke, the author of the USA Today best-selling Victorian San Francisco Mystery series and the Caelestis Science Fiction series. This is my newsletter reflecting on my life as an indie author trying to age gracefully. If you aren’t already subscribed but are interested in doing so, you can subscribe by clicking the little button below. If you enjoyed this post, please do click on the little heart and/or share with your friends, and I always welcome comments!