Lake Tahoe : Cloud Birthing
In mid- morning, the great lake breathes out in a cloud birthing gesture as the Sun rises more steeply and warms the surface. Squadrons of restless clouds form over the lake. These varied movements create a micro weather system that influences the area just over the lake itself. The bird-like clouds spring up off of the slopes of the mountains and emerge suddenly from an invisible realm into form. They reach a certain height above the lake and then they lose their lift. Settling down towards the lake they come to rest on the great bubble of air trapped by the ring of mountains. Their flat bottoms reveal the top of the air mass trapped in the basin of the lake by the ring of mountains. Like great flocks of birds they move in circles around the lake forming and dissolving in the morning Sun. At noon they sometimes build to great heights that can form thunderheads that sail off over the Carson Range and into the desert. But in the middle of the morning they play tag with each other in the shifting winds in the mountain ringed vessel of the lake. The sides and bottoms of the clouds absorb the serene hues of the water and the mountains into a symphony of magical blues.
Leave a Comment