Lenticular clouds in the water and sky

Today’s image of lenticular clouds – lens-shaped clouds at high altitudes – comes from EarthSky Facebook friend, John A. Rossetto Jr. He captured this photo at 20 Lakes Basin, near Yosemite National Park in California’s Sierra Nevada. He wrote:

It had been windy all day. These high laminar winds are required for the formation of lenticular clouds. The winds laid down right at dusk, the waters of the lake smoothed out to allow the reflection of the sunset to double the fun. The brook trout also enjoyed the calming, as a feeding frenzy took place. This is one of the few photos I took that did not have the reflection disturbed by the ripples of surface feeding trout.

Rossetto went on to quote naturalist John Muir, champion of preservation in California’s Yosemite Valley:

Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.

Thank you, John, for sharing your photography and the experience!