Clouds Archives

December 18, 2025

Thanks to the Cart Kid

It seems like I’ve been catching sunsets at just the right time lately. When I was still inside the lobby area at the Jackson Walmart, I saw the world was glowing orange,

When I got outside, I was impressed with the clouds and the way the wet parking lot shined. (You can click on the photos to make them larger.)

Look to the southwest

While I was taking a few shots, a kid who was collecting shopping carts said, “If you think that’s something, cross over the lane and look to your southwest.”

Holy camel in a canoe!

The kid wasn’t fibbing. The sky was boiling like something from an apocalyptic movie. It was somewhere between scary and awesome.

It was another good example of why you shoot it when you see it, because the clouds moved on a few minutes later, and they never got better.

Interesting, but not spectacular

The Jackson sunset was much more spectacular than one I had shot a few days earlier coming out of another store in Cape. These clouds were curious-looking, but not nearly as mind-blowing as the ones from the Walmart parking lot.

Just for the record, I don’t shoot sunrises.

July 29, 2016

Clouds Over Tower Rock

If it’s Wednesday night, that means it’s Liver & Onions night at The Mississippi Mud Tavern in Altenburg. Buddy Gerard and I usually top off the evening with a trip down to Tower Rock to check on water levels and see if any boats are passing.

This night, the only boat traffic we heard on my scanner was far, far away and breaking up, so the prospects of seeing a towboat go by was slim. Radar was painting some strong storms around, but they were mostly east and south of our position. Still, these clouds made for a pretty picture. Click on it to make it larger.

I was sort of hoping for a shot like this recent visit.

I ran into some heavy rain north of Fruitland, but Jackson must have REALLY gotten a deluge, based on how the creeks were running.

October 22, 2014

Last Generation Poster

I’ve been busy editing videos all day for my The Last Generation presentation at the 2014 Immigration History Conference at the Lutheran Heritage Center and Museum in Altenburg on Saturday.

The project to interview men and women in East Perry county who spoke German as their primary language growing up started about two years ago, but, just like with my high school term papers, I’ve pushed the deadline about as far as you can push.

That’s why all you are going to get today is a copy of the poster to promote the project. I’ve made a lot of changes to the video I mentioned back in March, but it’ll give you an idea of what I’ve been working on.

(If that cloud photo looks familiar, it’s because I published it on a post about trying to shoot the full moon coming up over Tower Rock.

Click on the photo to make it larger if you want to count the birds. Hint: if you only get seven, you missed one.

August 21, 2013

Blue Moon, Clouds, Lightning

I noticed the moon was big when I was unloading the van last night. Wife Lila pointed out that tonight was the Night of the Blue Moon and suggested we go to a nice place on the beach for dinner and to watch it come up.

Just like when I shot the full moon over Tower Rock last month, the cloud show at sunset was arguably better than the moon. Click on the photos to make them larger.

One minute the clouds were white.

Then the sky caught fire

In a matter of seconds, it was like someone had touched off a massive brush fire in the sky.

The sky got angrier

Just before all the color disappeared, the sky got angrier.

The moon made a brief appearance

I was chomping away at my dinner when the server came over and pointed up at the sky. According to my handy-dandy Moon Phase program, it wasn’t supposed to rise out of the ocean for another 12 minutes or so, so it caught me by surprise.

It made a brief appearance, then was eaten by the clouds, giving me an excuse to turn back to my food.

Here comes the storm

A heavy thunderboomer was off the coast moving to shore. I kept trying to get a good lightning shot, but most of the flashes were well to the north of us. This was the best I could come up with. It didn’t begin to compare with this video I shot of a storm out to sea.

So, it wasn’t a GREAT night for full moon pictures, but it was a fun evening. The company was good, at least.