MINDFULNESS ON A BUDGET:

If you have been hunkered down at home for several weeks, you may miss the sight of crashing waves, the smell of a damp forest or spring flowers, the happy ache in your legs as you tromp up a steep trail, or the sound of voices drifting across picnic blankets in a crowded park. If you wear a mask when you venture out, you might even miss something as simple as the feeling of the wind on your cheeks. There are still ways to stay tethered to the natural world in the time of social distancing, but it's not quite the same as being out there.

But wherever you are, you can still look out the window and up at clouds. They're always up there, from Mongolia to Manhattan. The sky "is a wilderness within everybody's grasp," says Gavin Pretor-Pinney, founder of the Cloud Appreciation Society. "It's the part of nature that comes to us." Here are a few ways to marvel at and identify the meteorological mainstays and what they mean--anytime, anywhere.

There are two main ways to approach cloud-watching, Pretor-Pinney says. One is "dreamy" and the other is "the more geeky way of doing it." He recommends trying both.

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