June 7: Asperatus and raptor
When I came out of my office to go to class after lunch, the sky made me gasp. The clouds were writhing, swooping, cleaving apart in in eye-shaped holes in a few places to the blue sky and puffy clouds above. There's no way the photos I took with my phone camera can show how astonishing this sky was. The strangest thing was that no one else around was stopped and staring open-mouthed like me.
Halfway across the courtyard, it occurred to me that these might be a newly-named phenomenon I read about a couple of years ago, Asperatus. After looking at the photos, I think it really might be. Exciting day for a cloud spotter! By the time I came out of class, the clouds had broken up and cleared away without incident.
As if that weren't enough, late in the evening, a small raptor flew over my balcony at home, soared across the road, and lighted on the top of a tall lamp post. It stayed there for at least 20 minutes, tearing apart and eating an animal it had carried up there with it. I watched with my binoculars. The rufous-colored underparts combined with what looked like a solid grey back and wings, and dark stripes on the tail, are giving me trouble with identification. Still, interesting sight!
Halfway across the courtyard, it occurred to me that these might be a newly-named phenomenon I read about a couple of years ago, Asperatus. After looking at the photos, I think it really might be. Exciting day for a cloud spotter! By the time I came out of class, the clouds had broken up and cleared away without incident.
As if that weren't enough, late in the evening, a small raptor flew over my balcony at home, soared across the road, and lighted on the top of a tall lamp post. It stayed there for at least 20 minutes, tearing apart and eating an animal it had carried up there with it. I watched with my binoculars. The rufous-colored underparts combined with what looked like a solid grey back and wings, and dark stripes on the tail, are giving me trouble with identification. Still, interesting sight!