My own little upper tangent arc

I have mentioned before that many of my spiritual discussions with God take place when I look to the sky. I am a woman who has a deep passion for the sky, the clouds, the air, the wind... everything the atmosphere has to offer, but when I look at the amazing works of art in the sky, I am sometimes blown away by the loving, giving nature of our God. As I look to the sky and see new and exciting things, colors that meld together, come to life, uplift and revive, I am taken to a place of worship, worship for an awesome God, who talks to me through the a medium I understand and love, the sky. I can't tell you how many times I have looked to the sky and been struck with a deep soul-felt awe. I can't tell you how many times, I have looked up and seen new cloud structures (new to me), optical phenomena, rare, unusual and masterful works of art, painted across the sky... a precious gift from our Holy Daddy, directly to me, usually speaking light directly into the deepest, dark crevices of my heart. Today was no exception.

This morning, as I was walking outside, I felt that God had a special gift for me today. I just had a feeling, my knower just... knew. Well, it didn't come right away... so I thought at first I must have been wrong. Then, as I pulled out of my driveway and faced the eastern sky, just after the sun had risen into, I saw one sundog. I love sundogs... they're neat and pretty, but they aren't all that rare, especially in our cirrus strewn skies lately... then, I turned... there it was... ... full solar halo with parhelia (sundogs) AND an upper tangent arc! It was not my first sundog show, nor my first solar halo (though rare, I had seen it before -- big grin), but it was my very first upper tangent arc experience (I caught one before with the camera, but didn't see it with my naked eye at the time)!!! Much of my life (to a fault, almost) is spent with my eyes to the sky (my sky-gazing friends are saying... SO?!). I am drawn to it, like a moth to a flame. I can't ever seem to get enough. Sometimes, I get a chance, a rare and precious chance to experience something new to me. I know it exists (usually); I study the sky with a passionate hunger for knowledge and understanding. I am driven by a longing to understand more and more and more, to see and experience and know all there is to know about the amazing and striking sky, the clouds... the light. It is that passion, that zest for knowledge that has led me into storm chasing. Everything about the atmosphere, the uncontainable fiery power of nature, intrigues me. Today was no exception at all...

Diagram of the 22° and the associated optical phenomena.Have a splendid day!!!
~Dewdrop