During the summer there was usually plenty of rain, which is good for farms, good for forests. There was also plenty of humidity. Most days, the sky looked white. It was because of all the water in the air. On days with unusually low humidity, the sky was a soft, baby blue.
When I was a kid, truly blue skies existed only in pictures. I also found them on family road trips to the American West. Out there, arid and semi-arid climates went hand in hand with far less humidity and spectacularly blue skies.
This picture reminded me of the color of a clear western sky.
I took this picture near the Corniche. In the photo the area looks desolate or even forbidding, but it isn't. It's funny how a photo can do that.
I love the sky in Lebanon. I know it's not technically bigger than the sky here in the US, but it always seems so big and wide and overwhelming to me.
ReplyDeleteNice of them to leave a ladder... so you could see over the wall, if you wanted to... or just to climb up, to get closer to the sky...
ReplyDeleteBlue sky, we get plenty of it around here. Glad you have some to enjoy too.
ReplyDeleteWhat you write is interesting. You grew up in the geographic centre - but you give a nod to 'the west'. So even in the GC, there is still the concept of open spaces further west? Is this more psychological than real?
ReplyDeleteWhat's shocking to me about America (now that I'm so far away from it I can be shocked by things) is that there is so much open space, uncluttered land. Cities take up very little of all the land that there is.
ReplyDeleteIt's the changing topography and the higher altitude of the American west that make for a bluer sky. Even in areas with high population densities there's a fantastic, deep blue, wide open sky.
Australia is very similar in that respect. Our cities (and population) clings to the coast and the centre of the country is sparsely settled.
ReplyDeleteInteresting how distance can aid perspective ...