Clouds on the Horizon

For nigh on two weeks a gloom has hung over our house, both literal and metaphorical. Shortly after our return from northern France, B. went down with Covid, and is still recovering. In solidarity I succumbed too, albeit less severely. As if in sympathy the clouds descended, and day after day has been filled with grey skies and gloom . But who are we to grumble? All over Europe towns and villages have been devastated by weather systems Babet and Ciaran, and lives have been lost. Now storm Domingos threatens. But surely, with so much rain around, our water restrictions must have been lifted. Alas no! Whilst we may well have expected heavy rain, like much of France , the endless grey clouds have brought nothing but drizzle. Our drought alert has been downgraded, but only from 'Crise' (or Crisis Level 3) to Alert Renforcéé, Level 2. What's more La Primelle stream remains resolutely bone dry.

November 2023 and still dry

But today the wind has got up and strong rafales(gusts) have ripped branches from the plane trees which lie scattered along the road. But, in spite of the unaccustomed chill ,the solid cloud cover has been broken up and large puffs of billowing cloud chase across an azure blue sky. It would be churlish of me to complain about the endless days of blue sky that we enjoy here in the midi, but this day of cloud is a thing of beauty. I love to watch the clouds changing shape as they drift across the sky, and the interplay of light amongst the grey and silver.

As evening approaches, the clouds darken, and the light beneath seems to become more intense.

And then, as the sun sets, we gaze towards the western mountains to watch the sunset. No two nights is it ever the same, but I guarantee it will always be spectacular, be it coloured in silver and grey, or brilliant pinks and orange.

Tonight's sunset

An earlier sunset.

T

We can read the clouds too. Mostly they pass from north to south, or west to east . However if we see them approaching from the south, we have a vent maritime, and we can expect rain. Today the clouds passed resolutely from the north and west. There is no rain coming yet.

Have you heard of the Maloja Snake? This is a cloud phenomenon that occurs in the Maloja pass in Switzerland, where the unusual conformation of the surrounding valley sides, combined with a fortuitous combination of wind and dew point , create a long serpentine band of cloud, that is nearly fifty metres thick. It is an amazing sight and featured in the excellent 2014 film 'Clouds of Sils Maria' , starring Juliette Binoche and Kirsten Stewart. We watched this film the other night, and lo and behold, the next day what should we see twisting down the valley in our neighbouring village, but our very own version, our own miniature Maloja Snake. From now on it shall be called The Soubès Snake. Clouds are indeed weird and wonderful things.