All of my posts this week were drafted before Monday's tragedy in Boston. It seemed kind of trivial to hit "publish" but they were ready, so I did it anyway. This one feels right; I might have put it together just this way even after the news. Looking at our beautiful sky has always brought joy and hope. We can all use some of that right now.
Colors of the April sky here in Southwest Florida.
The early morning... lavender and gold ...
Mid-day bright blue with feathery clouds :
And in the evening a pastel sunset:
A hopeful end to a beautiful day.
Thank you to SKYWATCH FRIDAY for giving us this weekly opportunity to share beauty, joy, and hope.
I love your blog, Sallie. It brings back so many wonderful memories. Since moving to Ocala, we haven't been back to southwest Florida...that's over 8 years! Got to change that!
Posted by: Lowell | April 28, 2013 at 09:59 AM
wow, they are so beautiful... I am kind of in tune with these photos Sallie. Thanks for capturing and sharing them.
Posted by: Prem | April 25, 2013 at 10:31 AM
BEAUTIFUL skies there in Florida! Great photos of it also!
Posted by: pat | April 23, 2013 at 06:06 PM
So very beautiful, Sallie.
Posted by: Penny | April 22, 2013 at 05:57 PM
Very nice and beautiful images
Posted by: Imagebloke | April 21, 2013 at 05:46 AM
I don't mention tragedies, and endeavour to avoid world news too, other than in comment responses. It doesn't mean that I don't care. It's simply that my blog has nothing to do with any of that stuff. Even so, I would not publish some stuff at the time of a tragedy for fear of inadvertently offending anyone.
Your sky shots are incredible by the way.
Posted by: Sleepshort | April 20, 2013 at 11:30 PM
Nice shots, Sallie.
Posted by: Sally in WA | April 20, 2013 at 07:16 PM
Sky has many faces, you see one of those today.
Posted by: Rainfield (雨田 Malaysia) | April 20, 2013 at 07:41 AM
Dearest Sallie,
How gorgeous your pictures of the various colors of sky♡♡♡
These pictures always brighten our minds♬♬♬
Loved the lavender and gold sky, feathery clouds sky and the collage you made.
I hope you are having a wonderful coming weekend, my friend in Florida.
Sending you lots of love and hugs from Japan, xoxo Miyako*
Posted by: Yamda Miyako (orchid) | April 19, 2013 at 11:07 PM
Very nice colours - I like the trees in the shots.
Glad you liked my Mud Island post!
Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne
Posted by: scmonckton@optusnet.com.au | April 19, 2013 at 10:59 PM
Lovely skies, Sallie:)
http://amitaag.blogspot.in/2013/04/moods-rishikesh-in-himalayas.html
Posted by: Amit Agarwal | April 19, 2013 at 10:41 PM
Outstanding...I love a non-storming sky!
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
http://deltacountyhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com
Posted by: Linda | April 19, 2013 at 02:10 PM
Love your sky photos. Great clouds and light. Enjoyed the way you put together several pictures on mid-day light.
Re: your comment on my blog, we spent the last two weeks of March avoiding the snow in South Dakota. Returned to no snow, so I thought our timing was right. I just didn't count on April snow. It should be all gone by June or July, perhaps sooner.
Posted by: Taken For Granted | April 19, 2013 at 12:36 PM
I agree! Life must go on-and your photos bring pleasure to so many.
Posted by: Hazel | April 19, 2013 at 10:05 AM
Oh how lovely that first shot is! I like the color behind the silhouetted tree. Of course your others are lovely as well. :)
Tragedy strikes and life must go on. Hope is what makes that possible.
Posted by: Carletta | April 19, 2013 at 09:59 AM
Stunning! I see hope in the sky as well.
Posted by: Dana | April 19, 2013 at 09:53 AM
Always the beautiful Florida's skies ! Hope is needed in those very sad times.
Posted by: Annie | April 19, 2013 at 09:40 AM
Hope - just what I've been thinking we need. Thank you, Sallie!
Posted by: Barb | April 19, 2013 at 09:34 AM
Your skies are beautiful all day round. Wonderful idea.
Posted by: Riet | April 19, 2013 at 07:02 AM
Beautiful photos:) Greetings
Posted by: ZielonaMila | April 19, 2013 at 03:48 AM
Beautiful pictures! :-)
Posted by: Kirsten | April 19, 2013 at 03:30 AM
that´s beautiful skies. Mine is grey today. :(
it will take another month before violets are blooming where I live. I used to make gelly from them.
Posted by: NatureFootstep Photo | April 19, 2013 at 02:49 AM
It's good that you published these beautiful pictures !
But at least it shows that we also have other things in life then this horrible tragedy which happened in Boston ! How can one be so mad and put bombs during a friendly marathon run ? Unbelievable !!
Posted by: Gattina | April 18, 2013 at 11:35 PM
Hallo Sallie
wunderschön der Himmel Lavendel und Gold..schön hast du es gesagt,
Boston..Trauer fühlt auch mein Herz..
verstehen kann man solche eine Gemeinheit nicht
einen LG vom katerchen
Posted by: katerchen | April 18, 2013 at 10:38 PM
I love the lavender in the morning shot. It is also nice to see what the rest of the day held.
Posted by: Arija | April 18, 2013 at 10:13 PM
Lovely set!
Posted by: Kusum | April 18, 2013 at 09:42 PM
Wow - colourful and oh so pretty!
Posted by: Lady Fi | April 18, 2013 at 09:02 PM
Beautiful sky captures. I wondered also if I should post this week but decided photos of beautiful parts of the natural world could help to mitigate the despair of the tragedies in Boston and Texas.
Posted by: Mick | April 18, 2013 at 08:50 PM
You captured the day beautifully.
Posted by: Charlie@Seattle Trekker | April 18, 2013 at 08:29 PM
Beautiful series! Never ending magic of the sky
Posted by: leslie | April 18, 2013 at 08:02 PM
Wonderful captures of the many colors in the sky.
Posted by: Carver | April 18, 2013 at 06:00 PM
They are beautiful and just what we need right now. We really need to hand on to the fact that there is still beauty in the world and there are still good people.
Posted by: Gail | April 18, 2013 at 05:43 PM
I am glad you posted your photos, they are lovely!
Posted by: Karen | April 18, 2013 at 04:55 PM
O beautiful for spacious skies.... Magnificent photography of beautiful skies for Sky Watch and thanks for thinking about us in the Boston area ~ and other places as well. ~
Posted by: Carol and artmusedog ^_^ | April 18, 2013 at 04:21 PM
It's not trivial, at all. There is no disrespect. Life carries on.
We cannot let horrible things like this shape our lives.
We cannot allow those who are sick to have power over us.
Posted by: Jenn Jilks | April 18, 2013 at 03:17 PM
Nothing wrong with putting a little light in our lives through mother nature.
Posted by: LaVoice | April 18, 2013 at 02:32 PM
I do agree that with all the tragic news the past few days we need to try and focus on all the beauty we can find -- looking up is the best place of all! Wonderful captures, and beautiful composition, Sallie! Have a peaceful weekend.
Posted by: sylviakirk | April 18, 2013 at 02:18 PM
What a nice series of beautiful sky shots! And thanks for visiting The Villages! Where did you live in Florida? The Villages, while mostly faux, is great fun. And it's huge - over 35,000 homes, 80,000 plus residents, and at least 50,000 golf cars!
Posted by: Lowell | April 18, 2013 at 02:17 PM
The tragedy in Boston has everyone on edge. It was a sad day and then to hear about the Texas explosion. I do hope things return to normal and my prayers go out to all the victims and families. Your skies are all lovely, Sallie! Happy Skywatching!
Posted by: Eileen | April 18, 2013 at 02:14 PM
i never know what to do about posting, mentioning tragedies, etc. if i mention one (as i did the texas blast today) it feels as if i don't care about others (like the boston bombings). but most of the time i continue to post, as sometimes we just need to keep going with 'normal'. and especially with peace and beauty of nature which may be soothing to some. like you, i pre-schedule my posts and hope folks know that my heart and head is with the victims, whether the tragedy affects one family or hundreds. whether it is in my back yard or across the world.
Posted by: TexWisGirl | April 18, 2013 at 01:29 PM
So beautiful.
Posted by: Photo Cache | April 18, 2013 at 01:27 PM
Nice time-lapse photography. It is always interesting to watch the sky change over a period of time. I love the collage with the contrail. The blue and white in this one is beautiful. genie
Posted by: genie | April 18, 2013 at 01:19 PM