Cloudwatching

It's been a working Sunday, mostly trying to catch up with bug-fixing on the new software, but also getting some jobs done on the house. Up on my balcony I've had mountain ash and birch and hazel growing out of all sorts of places that really shouldn't be home to trees. I've not been able to bring myself to remove them from the masonry of the house until now. I've simply had too much respect for their will to live, but after this long spell of dry and hot weather they've become possibly terminally withered. I've been happy to leave them to their own devices but I was never going to actively encourage their growth by watering them! Today was the day. I felt rather sad. I can tell you that they put up quite a fight. The balcony now looks very tidy, and any surveyor who comes to have a look will no longer be struck with horror, but it will never be quite the same again.

Working up in my studio here, I have a fantastic view of the sky both east and west. The cloud formations have been amazing today. After a night of quite strong winds and heavy rain, it's been mostly dry with just the occasional sharp shower. The atmosphere must be very turbulent at the moment. I've been quite badly distracted by cloudwatching. The one I've blipped here formed very quickly and just kept on growing so that it pretty much filled the entire sky overhead. Then you put your head down for a few minutes to get on with something, look up and the sky has completely changed again. I did take a break to have a short walk cum jog on the moor, but this shot taken from the balcony has to be my favourite cloudscape of the day. I've included the Cow and Calf in the bottom right corner as a reference. Nature has truly put on a dazzling display. It's made being stuck up here for most of the day quite bearable.