signs of spring

To many, spring begins with flowering bulbs and fruit trees bubbling with blossoms.  I have been known to photograph these things with an indescribable joy in my heart.  But as is typical in northern New Mexico, more often than not, the fruit trees bloom, and just when they are poised for the first stages of fruit production, a late frost lays over the land, dashing the hopes of fruit ranchers and enthusiastic foodies alike.

But besides flowers and taxes, a sure sign of spring is really interesting weather, and we in United States, have certainly had our share this week.  For weather geeks, the thin and powerful whips of thunderstorm lines reaching from southern Mexico almost to the Canadian border, is definitely a signal that spring is here in earnest.  The radar-indicated colors range from green and yellow, to orange, bright red, and even magenta.  One must hope that most people under the magenta pools are in their basements or safe rooms because there is a powerful brew in the sky ready to stir the pot.  Although not as dramatic as some we have seen in other locales, these cumulonimbus mammatus or "mama" clouds graced us with their drama, but fortunately not a violent result.

I love the understated caution included in the Wikipedia description of these types of cloud formations.

"Due to the intensely sheared environment in which mammatus form, aviators are strongly cautioned to avoid cumulonimbus with mammatus."  Keep safe!

until next Monday,

DB

a passion for the image