Overhead Performance

A dynamic performance

It’s my Sunday walk and it’s really cold out. Windy, too. Actually, it looks like it could rain at any moment. I love it; walking in the cold and rain is one of life’s treats for me. I’m so exhilarated by the weather-show that I leave the house without an umbrella, so if it rains I’ll get the full treatment (thankfully, it doesn’t until I return home later.) Walking at a fast clip, I reach Fairmount Park and am amazed at the clouds overhead. What a dynamic performance!; morphing from huge marshmallow puffs to dark floating plateaus, to great slashing watercolor washes of grey-blue … the clouds move across the stage that is the sky. It’s all pretty spectacular and I feel lucky to be in the audience as the weekend comes, in effect, to a close. Moving through the park the light keeps changing as the clouds run through their choreography …

Black, grey and silver

Dramatically, the light seems to go altogether. Putting everything — islands, trees, ducks, fishermen — into inky silhouette. The lake’s surface is now the star perfomer, all silvery ribbons, as the winds whoops it up in the background, then drops to a whisper …

A flash of blue

Rounding the lake, near the WWII amphibious tank monument, all the grey lifts for a moment and a flash of clear sky makes a sudden, startling, appearance. On the island in the middle of the lake, the palms form a tight chorus.

In a stormy mood

Having left the park, and rounding Indian Hill Rd. overlooking the bike path, the clouds get moody again and evening joins the cloud’s onstage as the lights almost go entirely. Abruptly-silhouetted vintage lampposts merge with trees and hillsides as the light fades …

Mission's dark view

Reaching the stone bridge over Mission Inn Ave., I catch the view looking eastward to downtown. An unexpected last bit of sunlight flashes down from behind Mt. Rubidoux, lighting the clouds once more … but it’s just a quick curtain call. A moment later the lights dim for the last time, and evening takes over the sky entirely. I’ve enjoyed the weather with its cloudy puffery and light show, but the weekend is now truly over and it’s time to go home. The work week has begun; the forecast: partly cloudy.