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Years ago, I remember lying on a Cornish hillside above grey tumbling seas with my sisters, staring up at sky making animals and faces out of the clouds. They would fade and reshape into something new and it kept us occupied for hours. The colours, depths, movements and layers of clouds can be so beautiful and magical, the light is reflected, scattered and coloured. The highest clouds – cirrus – just dust the blueness above us whereas the ones less high were like lightly torn cotton wool. However, it is the lower ones, which are I think are called cumulus or stratocumulus, which have many more imaginative possibilities as they are more deeply fluffy.
In fact, clouds are not really fluffy at all, instead being, far more prosaic, they are the visible suspension of condensed water droplets. There are general classifications and specific species of cloud, all of which are complex and diverse. I am not sure I fully understand their architecture, or all their names, and only can feel the complex updrafts and downdrafts which are created. I do know that the weather system sits within the climate systems and we are affecting both and then trying to survive the consequences.
Orange skies seen across here last week were a consequence of the wildfires currently burning 5,000 miles away on the West Coast of America.
The word cloud is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word “clud” meaning a hill or rock outcrop. Perhaps earlier ancestors also lay watching the clouds and thought that they looked like hills in the sky. Certainly, like us, our ancestors spent time trying to anticipate the weather, to read the signs and predict rain or sun. We still recite old proverbs such as “when the wind is out of the East, ’tis never good for man nor beast” which, in the UK reminds us that bitter weather can come across from the European and Russian land mass. Or “rain before 7, fine by 11” which may again be true as the weather tends to pass through.
Since weather forecasts are shared through a multitude of platforms, it is easy to keep googling until you find one which suits what you are looking for. At Highclere, where our events are often weather dependent, we have become very adept at rifling through the forecasts and luckily even the gloomiest predictions can often change a couple of days ahead. Equally addictive, in this country, is the shipping forecast on the radio each night even if we are tucked up safely inside hoping those on the ocean are adjusting their course accordingly.
Today at Highclere, after weeks of rather damp cloudy weather, it looks as if we have a few days of sunshine and blue skies ahead: a last hurrah of summer. In some ways, such days are not as interesting to photograph above the Castle as the days with clouds and their beauty is harder to capture as it can look slightly one dimensional. I have no idea if this is where the phrase” blue sky thinking” came from – apparently it is about meetings that are open to all creative ideas regardless of practical constraints. Certainly, at the moment, there are some practical constraints in that meetings are currently very difficult to hold and, personally, I find zoom slightly tiring and not necessarily conducive to creative ideas.
Equally, thoughts of seeing friends “out of the blue” is becoming more of a distant memory as social restrictions start to bite. Soon the autumn mists will start, suspending the Castle in the early mornings in a sea of flimsy white so that it almost seems to float at times – just as in the song from Les Miserables “There is a castle on a cloud. I like to go there in my sleep.”
More cheerfully, Winnie the Pooh was keen on clouds too: “How sweet to be a cloud. Floating in the blue!” I have a sneaking suspicion however that, like my dogs, this was possibly more about his endless search for snacks, in this case honey, than a real appreciation of the natural world.
Lady Carnarvon, The photos, I think you might have undone yourself. They are truly magnificent. I did not know much about clouds but I am well informed now and as old as I am I love Winnie the Pooh and Paddington Bear. I must be just a kid at heart. Best Wishes, Cheryl
Wonderful as always, thank you
Dear Lady Carnarvon:
I really enjoy reading your stories. The clouds brought me back to my childhood when I saw the shapes of animals in the clouds. I’m hoping one day we get to visit your beautiful castle when We are allowed to travel again. Please stay safe.
Lyn
My Lady Canarvon – absolutely sublime –
We ,here ,in the heart of the New Forest Hampshire, are also experiencing misty mornings now. Autumn is definitely approaching fast.
Today they have put the pigs out on the forest to roam and gobble up the abundance of acorns that are so harmful for the famous New Forest Ponies.
Careful driving required ahead dodging the pigs and New Forest Ponies!
Keeping safe and well everyone!
Good Morning Lady Carnarvon,
I also use to do that, I live near Niagara Falls N.Y….U.S.A.. It was, for me, like watch your own motion picture show.
Your characters changed with every movement of the clouds which were churned up by the mighty winds of the Falls. If you watched them in the moon light, it was like watching a 3/D motion movie that never ended.
Your, lovely topic brought back many memories of my childhood, to which the distance is getting farther by the day.
Thanks, as always for allowing me to take a walk down the lanes of life that I thought were gone like the winds of all my memories.
Very Warmly Yours,
John L. Roberts
Amherst, N.Y….U.S.A
Being a pilot I know one or two things about clouds too.
Beautifully written.
SBS
I am very glad you do!
Lady Carnarvon, I read your ‘Clouds’ post whilst drinking my morning coffee sitting in my garden, sunshine blazing down from a cloudless blue sky!
I still enjoy looking at clouds and seeing shapes and objects in them.
The most amazing cloud I have seen was when I lived up on the Isle of Skye.
One evening, as the sun was setting, I looked up to see a perfect Isle of Skye shaped cloud!!
Thank you for reminding me of that.
How lovely – memories and dreams
It seems here in America we have experienced more beautiful skies in 2020 than I remember ever seeing before. I don’t know if it’s because we are noticing simple things more in the midst of complex, but I am enjoying our beautiful cloud shows as well. Your pictures are lovely and always a joy to see! Thank you for sharing your landscape with us!
I love to just sit and look at the clouds as well. Very relaxing, and a great time to talk with their creator and mine. Your photos are amazing. It would be great to have them all in a book, or a calendar with each season and event. Do you have anything available like that in your shop, or coming up in the near future? Have a great day.
I do have lots of ideas I just don’t seem to have many hours
You write to make things so interesting. Thank you
How beautiful.
Just got my 2021 Downton Abbey calendar, wonderful pictures.
Good morning in Anaheim, California, USA.
My husband and I (we are originally from México) often stare at the sky looking at the clouds and laughing when we both find different figures; it’s been a fun thing to do since our childhood. Personally, it reminds me of my parents taking a ride in the automobile and they will start our curiosity by as asking us who would find the horse, or the dog, or just find those forms that would make us laugh and entertain us in those long rides.
Lady Carnarvon, you have brought such beautiful memories that I will share with my elderly parents again (I’m 57), and I’m sure that will make them happy and smile. Thank you and enjoy this beautiful day. ❤️
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
As a child, a favorite activity with my brothers and our friends was to lie on our backs, and imagine all kinds of animals, people and things in the shapes of the clouds above us. It was great fun with lots of giggles and uncertain agreements. Time seemed slower then, and without hand held devices and loads of selections on TV, we used our imaginations to make up all sorts of games in the woods and on the beach. Many happy memories were made. My father, who know celestial navigation and weather forecasting for boating journeys, would look at the clouds and remark, “There’s a cold front coming in”, or “The weather will change in 24-48 hours”. The clouds can tell us much if you know how to listen, or “read” them. Your photos and descriptions bring back many memories, and also encourage us to “look up”. We can all use that now, as we progress through the pandemic. And thank you for recognizing the extreme catastrophe of the fires on our West Coast. I cannot fully fathom the breadth of the devastation, and the fact that the smoke and heat can be seen in the UK is indicative of something the likes we have never witnessed before. Sorrow upon sorrow.
I look forward to returning to Highclere, to see the clouds, the trees, the gardens and expanse of park land, and of course, the magnificent house. Hope for the future.
Stay well and healthy, and I hope the same for your family and friends.
Best regard,
Charlotte Merriam Cole
Oh thank you,
Beautiful way to start my week and brought memories of when my sisters and I also watched the clouds.
Thank you,
Janet
Lady Carnarvon,
Here on the west coast (Seattle) we appreciate the days of sunshine as you do.
And I learned something new about the origin of the cloud thank you.
I appreciate your blogs.
Phyllis
Thank you for this – I too have always loved looking up at the clouds and I see all manner of obscure things in them! Your photos are beautiful with Highclere silhouetted against the sunsets. How right you are about the difference between seeing people and Zoom – I also find the latter is a bit of a barrier to creativity – very useful in these times, but not the same!
But it is useful – having just zoomed and not had to move!!!
I enjoyed these cloud pictures VERY much! Looks like seraphim angels paid you a visit.
Thank you from Flint, TEXAS. I wish YAWL a great day.
Irene
Lady Carnarvon,
What lovely pictures on your page this morning – how clouds give a beautiful backdrop to Highclere. The last picture – it might be late in the afternoon – seems to show the beginning of one of many glorious sunsets – perhaps to say ‘good night, sweet dreams’ to our world. Thank goodness for clouds, come rain or come shine.
Martha G.
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
white clouds against a blue sky one of the most uplifting sights to behold and can brighten the darkest of moods. I make shapes out of clouds, even in middle age, both on the ground looking up (lots of running cats and dogs, and dragons, lots and lots of dragons) and also looking down, from the window of an aeroplane. Of the two commutes I regularly do (COVID permitting) the run from Bristol to Bilbao is the best, heading out over the Atlantic there are some phenomenal formations and more faces and little families of people than dogs, cats or dragons. The other commute, which sadly will have to change was Exeter to Paris, not as high in the sky, so more often in the cloud than above it, a comforting blanket that helps me forget I’m in a tin box 35,000 feet above the ground.
It can be an amazing world
Isn’t fun to still imagine what the cloud formations look like? Thank you for a whimsical start to my week.
Theresa
Lady Carnarvon mentions honey at the end of her blog. Her podcast this week deals with just that – honey! You can hear the edition, which is called The Busy Bee’ here: https://apple.co/3iqXCzv
Dear Lady Carnarvon & the Monday Family,
G’Day and greetings from sunny Sydney (albeit now night) where 20 years ago tomorrow we had the most wonderful fortnight of warm spring weather whilst the City hosted the 2000 Olympic Games, or more correctly, the Summer Games of the XXVII Olympiad. I recall only a few hours of rain (it was really only a shower) on just one day during the entire 17 days of Olympic competition.
Truly, it was the greatest party that Sydney has ever had. Not only was there an influx of people from all parts of the globe, but I am sure the best possible weather joined in to be part of the fun.
Not only were the stadiums full to capacity, but the many outside venues drew large crowds both day and night. It was as if 80-90% of the population was on vacation for the entire duration of the Games. Residents who had decided to go overseas whilst the games were on were contacted by family and friends and told to get home as soon as possible, lest they miss the time of their lives.
Whether it was the atmosphere of competition or the temperature itself, the good humour, smiles and courtesy were everywhere. And those wonderful Volunteers worked tirelessly in providing assistance whilst always smiling.
Looking back, I am not sure what is more difficult to comprehend, the fact that twenty years have passed so quickly or that the memories of that time remain so clear.
One has to feel sympathy for Tokyo and the disruption to this year’s summer Olympics. Hopefully, next year will see both the Olympics and the Paralympics taking place in Tokyo before full stadiums of joyous crowds with wonderful weathEr and sans Covid-19.
I wish you all an enjoyable week/fortnight.
Regards,
Jeffery Sewell
I hope so although I am not sure we will fill stadiums – I hope we can achieve a gathering but rather like in a book it is good to leave space around the words, so I think we will still all prefer space.
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
Lovely writing today! And what also runs through my head are Joni Mitchell’s iconic lyrics:
I’ve looked at clouds from both sides now
From up and down and still somehow
It’s clouds illusions I recall
I really don’t know clouds at all.
Ah, but I am showing my age! *Sigh*
Have a wonderful week!
Roberta Fox
Beautiful thank you
Roberta Fox – Great Minds! I am just getting around to reading this late on Tuesday night, and all the while I’ve had the same song underscoring it as I read. Funny how things can trigger memories from our youth.
Of course, now I’ll have it stuck in my head, on a loop, until I go to bed.
Cindy
Magnolia, TX
When we are looking at the sky clouds reflect in our eyes.The castle eyes are it’s windows and every day they look around and reflect the sky also.Reflections of the clouds,nothing still,everything changing…Castle looks like staying still and time is stopped here but it is only illusion and changing clouds in the windows remaining us that time is going… Artist,Margaryta Yermolayeva.
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
It is hard to believe that the red sky has reached England as it shows the magnitude of what is happening on our west coast. I have a friend who lost her home in Talent, Oregon this week. She happened to be near a film crew and so she was interviewed and that interview got passed on to NPR. The pictures of the devastation are heartbreaking.
Your pictures, however, are lovely and I too like to look up and see all kinds of animals. Last year I saw a magnificent dragon actually blowing smoke!
Imagination is a great thing to have.
Diana Squibb
South Florida
I am so so sorry for your friend
Thank you for another thoughtful observation. Winnie the Pooh brings a smile! Did you know Winnie the Pooh was named for a bear from Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada?
How wonderful!
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
Your post regarding clouds is wonderful. I am a retired teacher who, because of the pandemic, has come out of retirement to home-school two of my great-nephews. Today’s science lesson is about clouds and your blog is going to be in the lesson. A hearty thank you. Enjoy your sunshine day and again thank you.
Dr. C. Lewis
Also “red skies in morning, sailor take warning; red skies at night, sailors’ delight.” Sandie
Whitefish, Montana, USA
Another wonderful post. I am an avid cloud watcher and the one thing I always remember is if the clouds look like fish scales it will be raining within 48 hours. I wonder if that is the same in other parts of the world. I am enjoying the cool weather of fall in Ohio after a long hot summer here. A bit sad to see the birds leaving and butterflies passing through, as I really had time to watch them closely in the gardens this year. I am seeing the daily changes outside my window like never before. That was the silver lining for me of this global pandemic.
We need to keep some of the rhythms …
Such a beautiful gift with words. Inspiring.
Lady Carnarvon,
We read about the red over England last week, thanks to the West coast fires. This is terrible. A California scientist said that 90% of these fires are started by humans directly. One of the major fires is the result of fireworks at a gender reveal party.
How I wish that people would think prior to acting. Critical thinking leads to consequence awareness. We should take responsibility for each other.
Notre Dame University offers pre-med students a course in Compassion. We could all use this.
Oh, to appreciate cloud watching as we once did!
Thank you, again, for your Monday morning missive. Epic!
Thank you
You are amazing. You never fail to write an interesting blog full of information & Beauty.
You are very kind!
Lady Carnarvon,
How interesting is your blog relating to clouds. Highclere looks beautiful in the picture by sunset. Here in Florida, we have been getting heavy thunderstorms this weekend; because of tropical storm Sally. I have to say, I am excited that autumn is coming in a few days. The air feels fresher and blue skies make everyone happy!
You can smell the changes can’t you?
This post was just the escape I needed today. I photographed clouds this morning from our (third) home, this one on Amelia Island, Florida. The almost-risen sun was barely peeping on the horizon of the Atlantic and made the sky a watercolor backdrop of pink, yellow, orange, coral and blood orange red. Photos just never do justice to the reality, however.
Thank you for the reminiscence of cloud-watching. Once COVID is over and travel restrictions are lifted, I’d love to visit Highclere. Stay well.
You too – stay well and come and see us when you can
If you see low clouds moving rapidly toward each other from opposite and perpendicular directions, greenish color to sky or low dark clouds that look like hanging upside down balloons get in the basement fast!!! Severe weather with the potential for tornados are near by! I have seen skies like this before in Missouri and Illinois. Frank Chary
I live in southern Oregon directly in the middle of fires all around us. We have to wear masks when we go outside the smoke is so thick you could cut it with a knife. It is scary from day-to-day not knowing if you’re going to have to evacuate and it’s very hard so just chill and be calm. Any prayers for rain in Southern Oregon would be appreciated. Thank you
I am so sorry for you and wish for rain for you
Another enjoyable post Lady Carnarvon! I always enjoy your Cornish childhood memories.
My Swiss husband always claims that English clouds are particularly beautiful! How funny that you chose this theme. He will be delighted!
Wishing you all the best from currently sunny, blue- skied and cloudless Switzerland
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
My wife and I had the pleasure of visiting Highclaire Castle in May of 2016 and wish to thank you for your kind hosting. Your email about clouds provided a nice reminder of that time.
We live in St. Petersburg, Florida, and see beautiful cloud formations on our early morning walks. If you happen to visit Our area sometime, you would be most welcome to join us on our walk. You can see pictures from the walks on my Facebook page – Craig Runde. Best wishes to you.
Thank you
Lady Carnarvon,
What a lovely post this morning! I, too, am fascinated by clouds. Here in southwest Florida we’ve had some rather angry clouds roiling across the sky as tropical storms and hurricanes sweep by…they almost seem alive! On most summer days here, mornings and afternoons are graced with crystal clear, cloudless blue skies. By mid-afternoon, puffy white clouds begin to show up, gathering in billowing towers overhead. Soon they get angry with each other and turn gray, flashing lightning and dropping life-giving rainfall. Usually they kiss and make up and offer us beautiful, colorful sunsets to apologize. It’s endlessly engaging to watch.
Thank you go the delightful descriptions. You gave me a much needed chuckle.
So lovely to see your beautiful sky as we are deep among the smoke and red skies here in Oregon with fires all around us licking at our shoes.
It’s a crazy time-fires everywhere, violence, hatred, locusts scheduled to arrive tomorrow morning.
I think regularly of the words of Alexander Hamilton in 18th c: “the world turned upside down”.
Never before in my lifetime have I felt this to be so.
It is the Four Horsemen…
Beautiful. I live on the West Coast, California – and we are in the middle of that smoke. Can’t believe it’s made it’s way there! God bless, Lori
Your descriptions of the clouds reminded me of the beautiful ones we saw when we visited Highclere last July. It was raining hard on the way, but the sunshine broke through and it was a lovely day. Our skies this morning are not as red here in Southern California. I had no idea they had traveled so far. It is, indeed, a small world.
I am not sure we do figure out the consequences in time and space
Here in Denver, one short week ago, we went from Swealtering(in red, smokey haze with a high in the low100’s) to Shivering(with a high of 34*f) in a two day span !
When my family lived in Ridgecrest, CA (very close to Death Valley, aka, the hottest place on earth), we were used to temps in the 110’s-120’s. However, the 60+-degree swing from this past Sun – Tues was quite the experience!!!
If I could’ve, I would’ve sent some of our snow to you for your fires & to clean your air. (The precipitation did help dampen some of our big fires here). It was lovely to have the ash that had been coming down from the sky change to rain & snow, that’s for sure! I’m hoping & praying that the fires and temps calm down SOON for you all (and for our extended family in CA)!!
A year and a half ago my husband and I were meeting with you (and the rest of our Viking group) at Highclere. (We had just finished a cruise from Switzerland to Paris and extended to Oxford. The trip was on my husband’s “bucket list” but the day at Highclere was on mine.) When we arrived that day the castle was shrouded with fog and mist and you came out of the mist after walking your lovely dogs. But before we left the sky was blue and the wispy clouds were in the sky like your first photo. These are treasured memories!
My husband died a few months later from his cancer and now I sit in my home in Oregon, alone, shrouded by smoke from the fires here. I Wanted to share this with you because seeing your beautiful orange sky is encouraging to me this morning. It reminds me that beauty can come from ashes. Thank you.
Thank you for your memories -just by the way have you listened to any of my podcasts?
Yes. I’ve loved them all. 🙂
I hope to return to visit Highclere next summer. Lord willing, when I bring a friend to England for her first visit.
Yes. I think I’ve listened to them all! Each one takes me back to Highclere.
My heart was quite touched by your comment & your courage in the face of such grief. I pray you will be safe (I’ve had the experience of evacuating & fleeing a fire years ago) & that you will indeed be given beauty for ashes. (That verse has often been a comfort for me as well.) His peace is a gift that is true treasure.
Good morning Lady Carnarvon
Early here in Calgary Alberta and I just read your post about clouds.
For me, clouds have helped me heal when I lost a dog. Shortly after my dogs have gone to heaven, I walk with a heavy heart and look at the clouds to see if I can see one in the form of a paw, bushy tail (I’ve had Golden Retrievers always) or the first letter of the dog’s name and then I say “oh there you are”. It just makes me happy in that moment.
Thank you,
Louise
Lady Carnarvon & Monday friends,
My brother had difficulty distinguishing whether a cloud was, stratus, cumulus, cumulonimbus, or stratocumulus. He was relieved when I told him that his difficulty wasn’t a problem attributable to himself; instead, it was all due to the clouds being in de-skies.
He said that was quite a relief, because he had felt sure that the clouds were looking down at him and saying “Hey, that one looks like an idiot!”
I told him not to feel that way or else he might end up with a tropical depression. My brother assured me that would never happen. He said he had no intention of going to the tropics.
He would rather visit a desert where clouds are usually unable to make rain and instead have to make ‘dew’ with water.
That reminded me of the thirsty cloud that floated into the bar for a drink. However, the bartender said “I’m sorry, but your thunder-aged”
My brother thought that was a joke but I told him I had read such things in a treatise about clouds in the sky. However, I must admit that it was way over my head.
Nevertheless, I did read about the cloud that got involved in drugs and joined a gang. It was all due to ‘atmospheric pressure’.
I also read that the little clouds idolised the big cloud, but that
was only because he was the raining champion. It also was rumoured that the big cloud wore thunder wear.
Mind you, my brother is quite smart he has been pondering a theory of whether less pollution will result in more files being visible in the cloud.
Well, I bet you didn’t see this blog coming at you ‘out of the blue’. But you are through it all now. I’ll stop and await your thunderous applause.
Regards,
Jeffery Sewell
Oh. My. Gracious….!
Dear Jeffery,
You belong in the knife drawer: you’re too sharp by half!!!!!
Thanks for the clever humor. It made my day!
Thank you for such a smile on a Thursday- it has taken that long for me to read the posting. This last 6 weeks has been quite scary with Hurricane Laura devastating the region where my family lives. It’s too much to write. Thanks again for the smile.
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
A most lovely and informative Blog, How many times We look at the Clouds and see images of past and unfortunately sad events such as the Fires in the Far West USA.
Highclere is the most beautiful sight in my opinion, no matter the weather. I so hope we’ll all be able to travel soon and Highclere will be our first stop on the journey. Wishing good health to all.
Gail Long in Alberta, Canada
Look forward to seeing you
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
Your weekly epistles are a gift that my daughter & I race to open each week. And they often make a fun topic of discussion! Your generosity of spirit & grasp of history, plus your fascinating experiences, make for very interesting & informative reading. Remember the old ‘Energizer bunny’ commercials (perhaps that was only in the U.S.?)? You’re like that bunny, and a gift that keeps on giving…
You are kind – it has been a challenging day and my battery is feeling a bit low!
Beautiful photos and cloud information. That is amazing that you had orange skies from our fires here in CA. We had “Pyrocumulus” clouds that the fires made. I took a couple of pictures of them, maybe I can email them to you. Today we still cannot go outside because of bad air quality – but there is hope – its looking good for tomorrow. Enjoyed your blog this am – can’t wait to get back to Highclere!
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
Thank you for your blog and the truly stunning photos of Highclere Castle. We are very fond of Cornwall too. Your comments reminded me of a lovely lady (Gina) with a studio in Polperro and who paints her beautiful surroundings including wonderful sky-scapes. When we called in she told us not to forget to look up at the clouds to see new pictures all of the time, just as you said.
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
I look forward to your weekly blog. You could have a blog for years and years to come and we would never tire reading it.
I watched your interview with Anne Diamond last Thursday and thoroughly enjoyed it. You looked great, Anne looked great and the dogs were almost behaved ;). I have only one questioned for you. How on earth were you able to pick up the cake on the plate and not have to fight the dogs for it? Someone must have been dragging them away! Haha…all good fun. I hope you plan to do more videos for Viking.
Happy Autumn…it’s just ’round the bend.
Fondly,
Your Friend in Windermere, Florida
Peggy Helbling
Thank you – the cake part was the hardest and I had lit the candle a little earlier and was worried it would start smoking and set off the fire alarm!!
Clouds moving across the canvas of the sky are the media of the imagination of the artist below. No need of an eraser!
We in FL are hugging summer a while longer, watching the hummingbirds and butterflies out my window. Our skies are cloudy often these days. We are having so much rain while our West coast burns. So sad. Prayers for rain in the West. We will definitely share! Can’t believe the smoke travels so far to affect you there!
(By the way, I love Winnie the Pooh, as I painted the characters from the book in my nephew’s nursery a few years ago. Pooh’s quips are always our favorite.)
Lovely blog as usual. And the photographs are marvelous!
Paul Mac who is part of our team here shared some of his photos of clouds – he has a great eye
Thank you, Lady Carnarvon, for showing me the first blue skies I’ve seen in more than a week here in San Francisco’s north bay area. I’m so surprised that the fires from our area brought orange skies to Highclere too. You write so beautifully about clouds and I’m hoping to see some soon! Meanwhile just looking at your photos brings me much joy!
Good Afternoon Lady Carnarvon,
Your pictures of Highclere are always so inviting. I’d like to walk right into the scene. I too believe clouds in a photo give it much more interest and depth. Clouds are the most amazing creations. They look so lovely and fluffy but can be so turbulent when flown through and for me, difficult to paint. I so enjoy your weekly blogs.
I hope your battery get recharged,
Pamela Oates
Thank you!!!
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
Your weekly blog is a joy to wake up to each Monday morning! Here is North Carolina, our blue sky is often referred to as ‘Carolina Blue’. Toward the right hand side of your first picture of clouds, I spied what appears to be a Seahorse looking downward on we mortals. Your website which is always a joy, is like hearing from a friend.
Warmest Regards,
Diane Shaffer
Thank you for your beautiful and interesting vignettes about life and landscapes at Highclaire Castle! I watched your “live” interview last week on Viking TV… always learning something new. Best……..
Wallace Craig
Midland Texas
Thank you – Viking TV have been amazing in sharing!
Dear Lady Carnarvon –
Thank you again for another delightful blog – beautifully written with beautiful imagery.
My Monday routine now includes reading your blog, including guessing where you might be going with the title. Throughout the day, we contemplate your blog and enjoy the fascinating comments from your admirers all over the world and your kind responses. (I now see that in addition to Downton Abbey calendars, there is a Highclere Castle one. I am sure we will have several by December 25.)
Wife and I are both from California and lived our lives through college there. Many of our family and friends are still there. All are seriously affected by the fires — and like the pandemic — some profoundly. It is gracious of you to acknowledge the fires; we are dismayed that the consequences were felt in England.
Sometimes when I look at the clouds, it almost a spiritual experience and I am sure we will think of you and others now when looking skyward again.
Regarding the weather, you may have heard that in Williamsburg, Virginia, “If you are not happy with the weather, don’t worry it will change in 10 minutes.” It is true more often than not.
Thank you again for transporting us to the beauty of Highclere Castle. We hope and pray for your continued successful reopening and that the week ahead brings you sunshine and blue skies – and just the perfect number of clouds.
Sincerely,
Steve and Robin Schroffel
Thank you Steve and Robin! it was a straightforward title today! We are interconnected throughout the world – none of us are islands …
Dear Lady Carnarvon:
Your blog was the perfect read on this very busy Monday.
The “orange sky” picture reminded me of one of Detroit’s motto: “Resurget Cineribus”, (“It will rise from the ashes”).
I am partial to the gentle and sweet reference to honey. As I previously asked, has any progress been made as to the Hampshire honey being shipped to and/or sold in the United States?
Until next week.
Perpetua Crawford
There are challenges exporting any food in to the USA
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
As usual your Monday posts are uplifting in a time that so needs them. Today’s brought back memories of my teaching days when I would read the book “Spilt Milk” to my students and then take them outside to lay on the ground and look at the clouds. Their assignment was to draw and write about what they had seen in the clouds. Their imaginations ran wild with creativity. It was one of my favorite lessons. Later when teaching university students, I used the same lesson with them. I’m happy to say they had not lost their child-like enthusiasm nor creativity!
What a lovely lesson!
Lady Carnarvon,
I too love to figure out what clouds look like. Last year, on this day, we were at Highclere Castle and it was a beautiful sunny day. We came prepared for rain during our stay in England but am glad to remember that we had very few drizzly days and mostly sunny ones. Very nostalgic these days.
Thank you for your beautiful posts.
Your posts are delightful, a wonderful respite., always. Nothing more enheartening than what another pair of eyes might see. And that you can see our fires there so clearly, disheartening for so many reasons but amazing nonetheless ….
I wish it was a time of global co-operation- the weather clearly tells us we are connected
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
Thank-you so much for your story about the clouds, I save your post until I sit down in the evening with my last cup of tea for the day. All the days work is done and I can now relax. I moved here in 1970 and now live in Vancouver Canada, where the weather we wake up to usually stays all day. It’s always amazed me how when I lived in Nottingham as a child we often saw many different types of weather in a day. I love your pictured of the clouds I have many photographs of clouds taken during my 70 years. Sadly here we haven’t seen any for a few days now we have smoke from the wild fires all the way the west coast here. You have a beautiful orange sky ours is just grey we can’t even see the mountains on the north shore. We were having beautiful sunny and hot days but now we’re almost ready to turn on the heat, the temperatures have just plummeted with the smoke.
I think when all this horrible pandemic is over our first trip will be back home again. I have a list of places we wish to visit and Highclere is very close to the top.
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
Wow, I had no idea that our orange skies in the San Francisco Bay Area (really the whole west coast of the US) reached all the way to you. The whole experience here was and is quite apocalyptic. My kids both live in Oregon and the air quality there is hazardous. On the bright side, waking up to your weekly blog post is always a pleasure and this one is no exception. I enjoyed the At Home at Highclere series during the summer, and your podcast is a delight!! Your Highclere Castle Gin is yummy. I have purchased several bottles and shared the gin with friends, socially distanced of course. 🙂 Your extra efforts to get the taste just right resulted in a distinctive and lovely flavor. It makes me think back to our enjoyable visit last May, which now seems long ago given what has transpired since. All the best to you, your family and the folks you work with. You provide a ray of positivity in a time when we all need it! Thank you.
Thank you – there seem to be so many catastrophes in the world at the moment – from the bomb in Beirut to the terrible fires and smoke. We see the photos and send our prayers
I wish I could stay a couple of nights in the castle… what a dream come true that would be 🙂
-jewel
Lady Carnarvon, For some people maybe a story about clouds is no big deal but the way you write it about it, it is beautifully intense but then every week your blogs are exceptional. Best Wishes To You, Cheryl
“I’ve looked at clouds from both sides now
From up and down and still somehow
It’s cloud’s illusions I recall
I really don’t know clouds at all…”
Someone has already posted this Joni Mitchel song, but reading your blog, I can’t get the tune out of my head! As I am still flat in bed with a bad back and with a steel back brace for the next 8 weeks, sigh, it is so wonderful to see your photos and clouds/skies over Highclere Castle so I can dream about being there. Perhaps by Christmas in the gift shop there can be a calendar for 2021 wiht photos of Highclere and its skies through the seasons? Also note cards with your beautiful photos would be most desired, too! Thank you for adding sunshine and fluffy clouds to my week with fond images of Highclere!
I keep playing the tune in my head too!
Such a lovely read this afternoon with a cup of coffee. As a private pilot, my eye is often drawn to clouds, but more to find their danger than their beauty…I should work to change my perspective! It is so difficult to realize that our wildfires here in America are so impacting your skies so very far away. Wishing safety to all those who work to protect us in these unusual times.
Thank you for a lovely break in my day.
Best,
Michele
Thank you!
For some reason I feel like apologizing for our Oregon fires causing smoke to float all those thousands of miles away and creating your orange skies just like we’ve had.
But right now I’m grateful to still have a home, unlike so many others in our beautiful state.
And now, we’re all hoping those wonderful bits of moisture will hold together, creating lots and lots of clouds, and then we’ll have a proper rain. Our tired firefighters would surely be glad of rain clouds these days (minus any lightning.)
As always, thank you for sharing your glorious home (and your furry friends) with such beautiful pictures.
I think I wish to say we are all connected, in our past at any rate is it is being there when the going gets tough
Lady Carnarvon, On your Instagram today, the photo of all the pups is so heartwarming for me today and needless to say a beautiful shot taken so perfectly. It does my mind and body so much good. Continued good health to you and all. With Kind Regards, Cheryl
Thank you Lady Carnarvon. Clouds have always fascinated me and I, too, have spent many an afternoon gazing up into the clouds. Your post came at a perfect time for me, for you see, I live in Southern California very close to the fires and we have not seen any clouds or blue sky for almost two weeks. It is very depressing living in a smoky environment, but I count my blessings because I am not in harms way. Our firefighters, police and volunteers are working in dangerous situations to keep us safe. There are not enough words to thank them for all that they do. Many people have lost their homes, their livelihoods and some their lives. We must keep them in our thoughts. The silver lining, if there is one, is that once again the fires will be put out, the skies will be blue and we will have beautiful clouds to gaze upon. Thank you.
I agree, your emergency services are extraordinary.
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
It’s amazing what I am experiencing in Oregon has reached England and affecting your sunsets. My husband and I are safely away from the fires In our home away from home but not safe from the worst air quality in the world. We wear our masks for two reasons when out and about. Your blog has provided a welcome cheer to the gloom outside. Thank you very much❣️
The fires seem endless –
Lady Carnarvon, I have just completed listening to all of your podcasts. They do wonders for the mind and body. Thank you so very much. With kind regards, Cheryl
I post a podcast every Thursday so more to come and thank you for listening.
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
I am heartbroken to know that you are being affected by the wildfires along the U.S. Pacific Coast. Smokey days have become a new marker for fall in our part of the world. This leaves me wondering, after so many years, what could be left to burn? Currently we have been choked with smoke for the more than a week with particulate levels being dangerous for anyone outside. We are desperately hoping the predictions of rain and light wind come true for this weekend. Oh to be able to enjoy the outdoors again.
Thank you for your lovely posts, they are a welcome distraction from everything else in the world. For 10 years now, Downton Abbey and Highclere Castle have been an escape from when I fell weary of the world outside.
Best Regards and Take Care,
Stephanie Hinchliff
Thank you for such a beautiful posting about clouds. I must admit I’m a bit done with clouds and storms. Hurricane Laura destroyed Southwest Louisiana and South Louisiana; various members of my family have been left homeless.
Hope for 2021 is in my daily thoughts.
There is no Planet B; may we recognize this and work together for beauty and health again.
Thank you for the lovely posting and photos.
I am so sorry to hear that – it has been such a tough year.
Lady Carnarvon, On your Instagram today, the photo of your dogs and surrounding area does my heart, mind and body so much good. Especially now with my own challenging situation. I am going to print it off and have it close to me to look at. Beautiful photography! With Kind Regards, Cheryl
Cheryl thank YOU for your support and comments – I have since shared some piglets on Instagram, it is like daily update and I hope compliments the blog.
Lady Carnarvon,
I share your love of clouds! I live in Floria and we have spectacular clouds and magnificent sunsets that are colored by the dust blowing from the African desert.
It was an unforgettable experience meeting you when my tour from WGCU
in Florida visited Highclere castle in May, 2018.
You were so gracious, open, and unassuming. I have enjoyed your posts
since then and always find them delightful and very relatable.
I wish you the best of helath and much success in your efforts to maintain and
restore the legacy of Highclere.
You are very kind