7. Maria’s bands

A touch of light in the early morning clouds.

I hold the most archaic values on earth … the fertility of the soul, the magic of the animals, the power-vision in solitude…. the love and ecstasy of the dance, the common work of the tribe.

~ Gary Snyder

Light behind the clouds.

Bands of clouds from Hurricane Maria reached out to us today.  There’s a bit of a breeze to go with them, but nothing near tropical storm or hurricane force.  Just a constant movement of warm and humid air with the occasional big gusts pushing more tropical air our way.  I often wonder if mosquitoes travel with tropical storms and hurricanes.  We always seem to have more of them when tropical systems come to visit.

Sunrise colors are underneath the darker clouds.

At first glance just before sunrise this morning, I didn’t think there would be much to see.  Dark gray overhead, gray to the east, gray to the west, gray everywhere in the sky.  As it grew lighter, I waited and watched (and swatted at mosquitoes).  The clouds were interesting to observe, going from east to west, swirling around, parting a little here and there to show some blue sky and sunrise colors underneath the dark gray clouds.

Softly shaded.

Reading the forecast discussion about Hurricane Maria at the National Hurricane Center’s website,  I find it fascinating that the same clouds and wind that are part of our weather are generating swells that will impact our beaches as well as those in Bermuda, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and the Bahamas.  Those islands seem so exotic and far away, and yet here we are, touched by the same weather system.  The clouds crossing by now might have been in the Bahamas a little while ago.

All weather passes, of course, and the clouds we see at any time might have been somewhere far away a week ago.  Or they might have just formed.  It depends on what’s driving the clouds, I suppose.

Somewhere beyond.

It’s day 7 of the Forty Early Mornings adventure.  Wow, a week already!  That went by fast.  One of the things I love most about it, so far, is stepping outside when I finish my yoga and meditation practices.  I feel more present in the gift of the morning.

Almost in downward facing dog pose, a double exposure self-portrait.

Today’s yoga practice lasted about 45 minutes followed by 15 minutes of meditation.  Things that were a little difficult to do in the beginning are already becoming easier or, if not easier, I’ve learned a modification that suits me while staying within the spirit of the practice.

Joyous morning light behind the shadows.

Thank you for stopping by.  Be good, be kind, be loving.  Just Be.  🙂

Patches of morning colors.

A few of the 10,000 reasons to be happy:  321)  Having companions on this adventure.  Thank you, Eliza and Pauline.  322)  The swirls of clouds, colors, light, and shadows this morning at sunrise.  323)  Kenny, the guy who came by today to fix our air conditioning.  The man knows what he’s doing and he’s a friendly guy with lots of character.  324)  The songs being sung by the occasional strong gusts of wind.  325)  A clean-out-the-fridge minestrone soup for dinner tonight.  It’s in the pot and cooking as I type.

Father Sky’s artwork.