THE GOOD CLOUDS. First (and, more recently, second) there was The Good Smell, nestling itself in the nostrils of thousands in the metropolitan area. Then this past weekend, there were The Good Clouds. Something about the big airy puffs caught people's eyes from Manhattan to Nassau County.

Me? On Saturday I was rambling through Bethpage State Park at around 3:00 pm when I noticed a massive lox-like or herringbone pattern in the sky, with about five broad sunbeams extended toward the earth like outstretched fingers. Later in the day, a Long Island news channel ran a picture of what I'd seen, describing it as clouds over Hicksville. (Yes, Hicksville is an actual town on Long Island.)

Here's my own feeble attempt to capture the sight for you, dear reader.
























Jake Dobkin of Gothamist also noticed and photographed the formation. He writes that it was "altocumulus." Commenter Joe calls it a "mackerel sky," so I'm clearly not the only one to find that there's something fishy about the formation.

I hear that today's clouds looked like cigars....

Photo: David Marc Fischer