Showing posts with label Cirrus clouds. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cirrus clouds. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Dynamic Adaptaion

Tuesday, February 16, 2016


One of the most fundamental and essential aspects of life is the ability to dynamically adapt to changes in the surrounding environment. Something just over a year and a half have elapsed since the last post was added to While on a Walk. The time has come to slowly resume the Walk.

The original intent of this blog as stated in its mission was and still remains: "The photographs in this project are about the sky, the earth, the plants and animals, and about the experience of being in their presence, the experience of their spirit, the experience of wonder and awe and delight. They are intended to be catalysts for contemplation, for leaving oneself open to allow wonder and delight to take hold and mature."

The only text I will include in posts going forward will be limited to the general location and any supplemental information needed to give the photographs a context. If the viewer is interested in flora and fauna identification beyond any included in a post, feel free to do your own research. In the meantime, leave yourself open to allow wonder and delight to take hold and mature, to appreciate the Earth for all its own innate beauty and spirit:










This set of photographs was taken on a walk yesterday, Monday, February 15, 2016, along the same section of the San Antonio River Mission Reach downstream from the VFW Blvd trailhead where I left off in the last post on July 9, 2014.

It was a rather warm, but beautiful mid-winter day. From the high cirrus clouds to the sky blue reflection on the surface of the river water, the river was as magical as ever.

As discussed in the July 9, 2014 post, this is the river healing and renewing itself. Continuous erosion and deposition dynamically reshape the channel. Black Willow, dormant for the winter, both stabilize the river bank soil and provide a perch for numerous smaller birds. Pairs of American Wigeons were abundant and actively feeding in the shallow areas of the river. And, of course, there are many more photos from this walk for future posts.

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Winter Clouds

"The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. Whoever does not know it and can no longer wonder, no longer marvel, is as good as dead, and his eyes are dimmed."         Albert Einstein



Two days before the winter solstice,
I stood in awe when I saw this cloud formation above the river.

This set of photographs was taken looking north from the VFW Blvd Trailhead on the San Antonio River Mission Reach on Thursday, December 19, 2013.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Stream of Consciousness, Part 2, A Sun Dog Appears

Thursday, December 6, 2012

These photos are a continuation from my walk yesterday in South Side Lions Park. Adding to the dream-like quality that I mentioned in yesterday's post, was the appearance of a sun dog, scientifically known as a parhelion (second and third photos). Instead of a rainbow, I guess this could be referred to as a "cloudbow":

















Thursday, October 18, 2012

Refreshed by the River, Part 2

Thursday, October 18, 2012

This is the second set of photos from my walk along the San Antonio River yesterday. Experiencing the presence of the damselfly, the lesser scaup and the snowy egret was a particular delight. But my soul took flight when the red-tailed hawk appeared as I was photographing the cirrus clouds above the tree.












Sunday, September 2, 2012

Contemplating Clouds, The Other Side of Isaac; A Sunday Special Edition

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Contemplating Clouds,
The Other Side of Isaac








This past Wednesday, August 29, Hurricane Isaac was all but stalled south of New Orleans, dropping torrential rain on much of the central Gulf Coast. Meanwhile, here in South Texas, the day was gorgeous. It was a bit hot with temperatures in the upper 90s (F) by mid-afternoon, but a brisk north wind of 15 to 20 mph offset the heat. Our weather here, like that across the central Gulf Coast, was also the product of the very tenacious Isaac, except we were on the dry, sinking air side of the storm.

These cloud photos were taken on my walk along the Leon Creek Greenway on August 29. They are some of the high altitude cirrus outflow clouds from the storm. One of the many ironies of nature: a hurricane can produce both terrifying torrential rain and wind on one side at the same time it produces hot, dry weather with wispy cirrus clouds on the other side.