There''s something about the eighth decade that prompts a person to reach into her mental back pocket and pull out lessons and observations that had built up over the years and try to give them some shape, some voice. This book is a collection of just such heaped-up musings, much as the billowy cumulus clouds are a gathering of the shifting vapors in the air around us. It is partly with this in mind that I have fashioned the title Cumulae for this collection. Each day cloud shapes give beauty to our lives. Though they may float above unnoticed, they often set the tone for our pass¬ing hours. As sources of rain, they nourish us, even as they may hover ominously over us. Fre¬quently, though, they serve as sources of hope and joy and, indeed, coax the mind to a higher plane. While these verses are eclectic in style and general in topic, a great portion of the inspiration springs from days spent at our family''s mountaintop retreat, "Laurel House," which most assuredly lies at such a higher plane.