Cloudy with a chance of Creativity

Perhaps as a result of my spending so many of my growing up years in Colorado, I've come to expect a routine of sunshine during the day, splotchy rain in the afternoon, and crisp nights.  In the heat of summer, in our 2nd floor apartment in a home built in 1890, I appreciate those crisp nights.

It's a very typically gorgeous climate, and the reason I'm sure so many people continue to flock to this perpetual Valhalla (especially Texans and Californians).  Colorado is the full color "OZ" to the rest of the world's "Kansas" of black and white.  Who wouldn't want to live here?

In a nomadic Air Force family, I've lived several stints away from this glistening paradise.  I've seen worse places, and many would fall into that category of opinion, though to allow their locals a measure of dignity I'll leave titles out of it.  But I've also been to different places.  Places which, for all their perplexity and bewitching power have left an enduring image that the occasional impression will bring to mind.

Specifically, cloudy places.

Places like Aberdeen, Scotland.  Seattle, Washington.  San Francisco, California.  It's true that Colorado can be cloudy too, but thanks to a majority of happy, chipper and sunny days - it just doesn't have the same association for me.  What I find interesting is the way a cloudy day can shape my creative mood.

Maybe it's just me, but watching a fog roll through adds a measure of mystery to the day.  A sprinkle of rain that just wets your nose and shoulders wakes you up.  Staring at a downpour approaching off the coast, sitting with coffee and journal in hand from the grounds-filled air of an indigenous shop is thought provoking.  Why?

Clouds obscure what was previously in full view, and they change the look of things we've seen countless times before.  The lighting is muted.  Colors dull.  Imagination takes over to fill the gaps in visual perception.  I think for me, it's those not knowing experiences that give me the freedom, or even force me to perceive whatever I will.

Thanks to Brianne Nichole Photography!

This morning, the crisp air held my thoughts captive for only a moment as I woke up.  "Maybe it's a little cloudy outside," I thought for an instant before I opened my eyes.  Sure enough - the blue sky is piercing, the birds are singing, and the hot sun was rising over our baked landscape.

Although our next vacation is a little ways off, I think I'm learning to search for those 'gaps' in the meantime.  Who knows what may come of it?