upslope

When the wind comes in from the northeast,

the skies darken, it turns cold

and the unmistakable stench of crowded cows

drifts in from the feedlots in Greeley.

While the people from away wonder, "Eeew, what's that?",

we put on our jackets and expect moisture.

Clouds smack up against the mountains,

cool and then fall down,

either as lots of rain and/or snow.

We call it upslope.

Casey Klahn has appropriately asked for clarification...

Continental features like the abrupt rise

of the Rocky Mountains out of the Great Plains

make the weather here very dynamic.

I painted this view looking from our house

across Boulder to Flagstaff Mountain

a little more than a mile to the southwest.

The dark blue is the side of that mountain, shadowed by

thick rain clouds hanging like a fog bank.

Above that is an even denser cloud layer

which can boil up into a thunderstorm.

Although it all looks quite still,

shown in time-lapse, it's one of the greatest shows on earth.

This is an amazing place.