Clouds on the Kenai

When I'm guiding, my focus is on the river and my clients.   All day long I'm constantly watching the water while keeping an eye on the people in my boat.   So why am I posting about clouds?   Well, this past season I was distracted just enough to take pictures of several unique cloud formations.    You'll have to admit, the photo above makes you stop and wonder, "what the heck?"

This is when the clouds first caught my attention.  As I was taking this photo of Bill I saw these two tufts over his right shoulder.   Wish I could tell you what they're called but I haven't got a clue.  Any meteorologist out there reading this blog?   If so, make sure to post a comment and tell me what they are.

On another day I had to take this photo of mares' tails (cirrus clouds).   They are very common in the world, but I took this photo because it reminded me of the first time I fished the Kenai with my dad.  I remember my dad looking to the sky and saying,  "I've never seen such a blue sky, take a picture of it."   I took a picture and the rest of the day I thought my dad was crazy.   Why would you want a picture of a blue sky?  As I've grown older and have traveled a bit I now know why he felt the way he did.  In northern latitudes there's less air pollution which makes the blue of the sky even more blue.

Here's another photo of mares' tales (cirrus clouds) which, more often than not on the Kenai, move in from the southwest.   Always nice to look at but for those who spend a lot of time in the outdoors you know they show themselves in advance of a frontal system.  You quickly learn to enjoy the weather while you can because conditions will soon deteriorate.