 |
|
| Home | Welcome | What's New | Site Map | Glossary | Weather Doctor Amazon Store | Book Store | Accolades | Email Us |
 | |||||||||
The Elders SpeakOn Weather Watching For many years I was self-appointed inspector of snowstorms and rainstorms and I did my duty faithfully. Did you ever take pencil and book to scribe down the sounds the wind makes as it sifts and soughs through the trees? I believe that the sky was created for pure beholding; that one of man’s greatest pleasures can be simply looking at the sky. The sky is the daily bread of the eyes. And instead of this, there is not a moment of any day of our lives, when nature is not producing scene after scene, picture after picture, glory after glory, and working still upon such exquisite and constant principles of the most perfect beauty, that it is quite certain it is all done for us, and intended for our perpetual pleasure. And every man, wherever placed, however far from other sources of interest or of beauty, has this doing for him constantly… the sky is for all;... Men judge by the complexion of the sky the state and inclination of the day. The sky and its clouds are a country of fantasy and daydream, of time spent to no purpose but leisure and the play of the eye with the imagination. Like sleep and its dreams, it is always there and always makes its effect upon us, whether we regard it or not. Some have a wild, storm-swept heaven; their happiness has been in storms, heaven must have storms mixed with fair weather. The air was a sparkling wine, full of snap and brilliance. Living with the skies and knowing what they were up to was once one of the joys of living. It is a strange thing how little in general people know about the sky. It is the part of all creation in which nature has done more for the sake of pleasing man, more, for the sole and evident purpose of talking to him and teaching him, than in any other of her works, and it is just the part in which we least attend to her. There is a single snow which a child stores in his memory, the first snow when he falls into a drift, the first snow that reveals secrets like the flake on his sleeve.... For the man sound in body and serene in mind, there is no such thing as bad weather; every day is beauty, and storms which whip the blood do but make it pulse more vigorously. If you wish merely to listen to the sky, or smell the sky, or feel the sky with your finger tips, do that, too. The atmosphere encompasses all sizes and time scales. A child can discover science in a single raindrop in his hand, or behold them in a rainbow, or wonder of them in the clouds, or watch them from space, encircling the globe as weather. I saw more clearly than I have ever seen before or since the minute detail of the grasses, the clusters of sand shifting in the wind, the small flotsam of the forest, the motion of the high clouds streaming above the peaks. There are no words to convey the moods of those moments. My moments of keenest satisfaction and most complete mental peace have been those when the grandeur of nature's artistry has cast its spell over me. The sky becomes a boundless source of inspiration -- instant images for our emotions to indulge in, our minds to explore. That's the reason to be a sky watcher. And in the process, we renew our connection to nature and open our spirits to the spendours of our planet. Watching the sky and its contents can be inspirational, comforting and soothing. Guessing how it will change over the next little while can be quite fun. Furthermore, it requires no special equipment or transportation. It's free! And it all begins by looking up. Joys come from simple and natural things, mists over meadows, sunlight on leaves, the path of the moon over water. Even rain and wind and stormy clouds bring joy... Of two men looking at a sunset, the scientist will say, "Tomorrow will be clear," while the philosopher observes, "What a wonderful sunset!" Every day a new picture is painted and framed, held up for half an hour, in such light as the Great Artist chooses, and then withdrawn, and the curtain falls. With your eyes to the sky, in old age, may you walk lively in a path of beauty. Yes, somewhere I hear they are looking for a storm watcher. I sure would like the job. Learn More From These Relevant Books
|
|||||||||
 |
To Purchase Notecard, |
Now Available! Order Today! | |
 |
 |
NEW! Now |
The BC Weather Book: |
