The sun was as flirty as Scarlett O'Hara with the Tarleton twins, breaking through the clouds in spectacular bursts that seemed like personal favors and then retreating for hours, days, and making us all ache for just a glimpse.

... back then the sky seemed so vast.

And now the sky above me... is low, and narrow, and heavy.

Every corner of the sky awkwardly showed up wearing the exact same thing, a moody gray dress accessorized with flat clouds. If North, South, East, and West were drag queens, this would be bad, very bad.

The sun had almost gone down and the storm was illuminated behind the clouds. Now it has passed, cooler weather will return.

You chart pressures, like a weather man looks for clouds and storms, ... There are formations out there that tell you that the blitz is coming. Sometimes they're more difficult to forecast than others.

I loved weather, all weather, not just the good kind. I loved balmy days, fearsome storms, blizzards, and spring showers. And the colors! Everyday brought something to be admired: the soft feathery patterns of cirrus clouds, the deep, dark grays of thunderheads, the lacy gold and peach of the early morning sunrise. The sky and its moods called to me.