Formerly the new Earth Porn

Crater Lake, Oregon.

Dolomites, Italy.

That is an AWESOME shot of Crater Lake and Wizard Island! LOVE IT!!

Valloires Abbey Garden, France

Tulip Fields, Amsterdam

These are the Southern Alps on the South Island of New Zealand.

Mount Etna, Sicily. I am amazed at the city lights in the background... so many people living so close to a very active volcano.

Incredible timing... or a photoshop... still pretty though

Asperatus Clouds...

From Wikipedia:

Quote :

Undulatus asperatus (or alternately, asperatus) is a cloud formation, proposed in 2009 as a separate cloud classification by the founder of the Cloud Appreciation Society. If successful it will be the first cloud formation added since cirrus intortus in 1951 to the International Cloud Atlas of the World Meteorological Organization. The name translates approximately as "roughened or agitated waves".

The clouds are most closely related to undulatus clouds. Although they appear dark and storm-like, they tend to dissipate without a storm forming. The ominous-looking clouds have been particularly common in the Plains states of the United States, often during the morning or midday hours following convective thunderstorm activity. As of June 2009 the Royal Meteorological Society is gathering evidence of the type of weather patterns in which undulatus asperatus clouds appear, so as to study how they form and decide whether they are distinct from other undulatus clouds.

Another asperatus cloud over New Zealand... courtesy of NASA...

Eric wrote:

Asperatus Clouds...

WOW! This almost looks like a Van Gogh! Is this in New Zealand too, do you know?

Those are AMAZING, E!! I love them!

A dragon's blood tree.

This is a wisteria tree...

Renndølsetra, Norway

Sven, it's time to mow the roof again...

Geez, that Dragon Tree is gorgeous. Stunning. And the wisteria trees....??? Did someone put up posts then wind a wisteria vine from post to post, or what? My wisteria has to have some support, or it will fall over or climb the nearest tree on its own.

I have never heard of free-standing wisteria trees!

My guess is that the posts were put there to keep the branches from breaking under their own weight... as support, if you will.

I have seen Wisteria grown like a tree, but it took a LOT of pruning.

This was at the Canadian border.

lenticular clouds

Cirrus Kelvin-Helmholtz Clouds

Mexican Popocatepetl Volcano eruption and shock wave 17-June-2013... awesome