I keep putting off this post about Cloud Appreciation, but really, I appreciate them every single day I see one in the sky, so I don’t really need a specific day.

One of the many reasons I love living in the West is the access to big open sky. I do enjoy traveling to other states and places but after a while, I miss that vast expanse. Even the forests in the West are filled with sky. It feels like back East (the few places I have been there) it goes from daylight to nighttime, with no sunset warning between the thick trees or crammed city streets.

But I digress. THE CLOUDS, JESS. We are here for THE CLOUDS.

So, you have heard of the Cloud Appreciation Society, yes? What – you haven’t? Well! ::pushes glasses up nose:: Rather than bore you on a big long block of text about it 1. I’m sure you can deduce from the name what they’re all about; 2. You can watch the video here to get more philosophical about cloud-watching.

I have been a cloud-watcher all my life, but after joining up with the CAS in 2008, it has become a very large thing in my life. I try not to bore people about it, but I do have a habit of texting friends photos and exclamations – “THE CUMULONIMBUS!!” It really is a great experience to just watch the clouds at any time of day. Sunrise and sunset being my favorite, of course. Or, as my new favorite word says it: Crepuscular. Sometimes it is nice to share it with someone, but there is a perfection in experiencing it alone.

Years ago, Rob Sweere began what he named the Silent Sky Project, where he invited workers inside a mall to come to the roof and lie in silence (or as he called it “a conversation with the clouds”), for 30 minutes, looking up into the sky. It was such a success that he had it in other places and then it took off around the world. I’m all for that.

There isn’t an official Cloud Appreciation Day, because really, it should be everyday! But if you feel like choosing your own special cloud day, make yourself a cloud cocktail, create a giant, permanent cloud, grab your cloud-spotting guide, or just straight up lie down and look up!