One never knows what can turn into reference for a story.
I’m re-reading Gavin Pretor-Pinney‘s delightful The Cloudspotter’s Guide, hunting for bits to add color to the story I’m writing – which features hot air balloons and people drifting through the sky, so it’s fitting.

The guide is not a meteorology handbook, but rather a book about cloud culture – teaches you to recognize and name different cloud formations, gives you a rundown of their behavior, plus lots and lots of other fun facts, folklore and assorted whatnots.
It is an excellent book to have handy when hiking, or when idling in the courtyard, in the summer, watching the clouds as they run through the blue sky.
Or something. Continue reading →