Summer clouds
If we if we could see the clouds from the other side where they lie in billowy glory, bathed in the light they intercept, like heaped ranges of Alps, we should of be amazed at their splendid magnificence.
We look at their underside, but who shall describe the bright light that bathes their summits and searches their valleys and reflected from every pinnacle of their expanse.
Author unknown
Summer is a special time of year as far as memories. Who can ever forget the exhilaring feeling at the beginning of summer when schools lets out? Summer has always meant freedom from many wearying and burdensome months spent in classrooms staring out the windows in boredom. Memories of summer vacation, swimming in a mill pond, fishing in a pond way out in the country and heading to Myrtle Beach for a truly wonderful couple of days At the ocean in the days before high-rise hotels and condos stretched along the coast for 30 miles. I don’t even recognize the place today compared to back then..
But summer has always been very hot and humid in the South, and it’s getting hotter by the year as the planet warms and the climate changes. When you’re young, you can tolerate it much better. I remember sweating buckets mowing lawns in the intense summers of my youth in New Orleans. But physically, it was doable, even tolerable. Besides, that was how I made my spending money and saved up a modest amount for college.
Now when I do venture out in these sweltering days of July in Charleston, I feel smacked by the heat whenever I get out of my air-conditioned house or car.
There’s something about summer also that sets it apart from the other seasons, and that’s the massive, billowy white clouds float overhead or congregate in towering masses on the near horizon. When I’m driving toward them they seem so far away, but are they? The cumulus clouds of summer just make me feel good. My imagination takes flight to those far off pavillions in the sky.
At our Waterfront Park the other day I stared at the clouds in amazement, as if I’d never seen such a grand spectacle. Summer days in the future may become too hot to bear, but as long as there are billowing clouds, there will be memories of what once was.
Nice entry. I could visualise it all. I love Charleston. It’s our go to place when we want to escape Sarasota. I love the food in Charleston. We often stay at the Mill House. It’s a gracious Southern place.
@ipsofacto So glad you enjoy Charleston. It seems like it’s more popular than ever with visitors, and there is so much to see and do. The food is amazing and the Mills House is a grand hotel. Years ago we went there for Thanksgiving buffet.
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The company I used to work for had a branch office in Charleston so I traveled there a few times in both summer and winter. It’s a lovely place and I was always fascinated with the accents the people have – that long southern drawl. I remember summers as being hot and humid but winters were comparably warm. Ideally one should spend summers up north and winters down south.
@trunorth Yes, winters are just about ideal here. Not too cold and perfect for doing things outdoors. Summer is another matter, but somehow we survive them. Spring is the most beautiful season of all here. The gardens are amazong that time of year.
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I wonder if the person who wrote the quote at the beginning of your entry had ever flown in a plane. I remember the first time I ever flew (I was married by then) and how fascinated I was by the clouds that we flew over. I took dozens of pictures. Your quotation made me remember how I felt that day. It felt like you could just step out of the plane and play on the gigantic, soft pillows.
@startingover_1 Loved your description! I was always marveling at the clouds when I was flying somewhere, but I haven’t flown in about 25 years now so I have to use my imagination when I look up into clouds. But that’s easy to do because they are so enchanting.
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