Visual Delight

Mammatus clouds - according to this source "Mammatus are pouch-like cloud structures and a rare example of clouds in sinking air. Sometimes very ominous in appearance, mammatus clouds are harmless and do not mean that a tornado is about to form; a commonly held misconception. In fact, mammatus are usually seen after the worst of a thunderstorm has passed."

The photos, taken by Jorn Olsen, from Heartwell Park in Hastings, Nebraska, are reassuring evidence of the joy we take in beauty. There is something inherently, intrinsically delightful about these strange clouds. Something belonging clearly to the category of, well, fun. They have no tangible benefit. They are rare, and somehow precious, but you can't take them to the bank. Unless you're talking about a cloud bank. And even then, you really can't do anything with them or to them except enjoy.

I asked my wife, the artist. We were sitting on the beach, looking at the waves and birds and surfers and clouds. "Rocky," I asked, "why is it so much fun, looking at the waves and birds and surfers and clouds?" "Visual delight," she answered. "The same thing that makes people want to go to the grand canyon and the painted desert. To delight the eye." And open the heart. And touch the soul of the world.