Natural Wide-Angle Panorama

Monday, April 01, 2019

I’m an fan of Charlotte Bronte, a wonderful writer. Her novel, Jane Eyre, was England’s earliest published work by a woman. Her imaginings arose in remote English moors where she lived, the eldest of four brilliant siblings. Her incredible ability to put mental images into words elevated her to international acclaim. Charlotte wasn’t her family’s lone artist. All the Bronte children could write. Her younger sister, Emily, a writer equally good to Charlotte, imagined relationships differently. Their skills got me into studying the Brontes, and they’re fascinating stories.

Another early English writer I enjoyed, Elizabeth Glaskell, was fascinated by Charlotte Bronte and made a point to get to know the young writer. Mrs. Gaskell developed a friendship with the shy Charlotte and wrote about her at length. In one description, she destailed Charlotte’s lifelong habit of standing in the moors, and at length, silently staring into the sky, studying clouds to evaluate weather patterns. In those days, there was no other way to forecast weather. I remember, from reading this years ago, and today incorporate Charlotte’s habit into my own life.

The high desert in Central Oregon is a place of forests, mountains, sky, and clouds. The mountains influence incoming weather by altering patterns sweeping in from the west. Their peaks capture winds, changing and funneling them toward this high desert; they capture rains on high, freezing and turning them into our snows. Central Oregon’s mountains, constantly interacting with weather, make overhead skies especially fascinating during seasonal changes.

Now silently, I stand watching the skies and often thinking of Charlotte.

Dear Readers, It’s April! And finally, spring. Diana