“Ships that pass in the night, and speak of each other in passing …”
~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “Tales Of A Wayside Inn”

The image below brought Longfellow’s words to mind. My curiosity then led me to its origin.

“Tales of a Wayside Inn” is a collection of stories related by a group of travelers staying at the Red Lion Inn in Sudbury, Massachusetts. The storytellers included a landlord, a musician, a Spanish Jew, a poet, a theologian and a student; all were close friends of Longfellow. The Tales was written over a three-day period in which the weather dictated activities. Upon their arrival, a storm had moved in. Weather conditions quickly deteriorated as the storm intensified. Cozy within the Inn’s walls the tales began, ending when the ale ran out and the skies had cleared. Perhaps these folks were the “ships that pass in the night …”

Speaking of storms … On Tuesday, snowflakes fell across our foothills; Mt. Lukens was left blanketed. Although the sight comes most years, a renewed excitement always results. Now the following was truly unbeknownst to me.

Ships at sea, like high-flying jets, can leave contrails – cloudlike swaths of condensed water vapor – hundreds of miles long in the atmosphere above them. The phenomenon occurs when ships move under a fairly calm atmosphere and microscopic particulates from the ships’ exhaust stacks rise into the middle atmosphere causing condensation. Calm air preserves long trails, giving the impression of an ocean aswarm with ships.

Breezy, cold and rainy weather is expected to move in tonight lasting through tomorrow afternoon. Saturday another system – colder and more volatile – is predicted to come ashore. All-in-all, one to three inches of rain are possible. Sunday all will pass and clear and warmer days return. NWS meteorologist are hinting at a precipitation possibility for Wednesday. The chance is “up in the air” for now.