LOOKING UPWARDS.

I grew up in the U.K., and there were a lot of gray days. I guess that’s why I didn’t really need a cyanometer (above), which measures the blueness of the sky. It was invented by Horace-Bénédict de Saussure. This one is from 1789, and is in the Bibliothèque de Genève, Switzerland.

Why not take a Pantone swatch book outside and see which color is currently being used by Mother Nature? Like Andrea Antoni is doing here. He matches Pantone colors to all kinds of scenes. On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stailuan/

Inspired by this, I tried to do a similar thing with the sky over the street where I was born. (On the Isle of Sheppey.)

Image from Google Street View.

Clouds
Here’s a handy cloud identification guide. I’ve been using it to sound like a meteorologist: “Oh, look everyone, there’s some altocumulus and cirrostratus around this morning.”

I like looking for shapes in clouds. An unusual hobby, but so is bus-spotting (collecting the registration numbers of public buses), and I used to do that too. Anyway, the United States might come floating past my window…

… or perhaps a roast chicken.

You never know.