Posted tagged ‘Wind’
December 12, 2016
My friend called last night and said it’s snowing, and the tips of the snow have such beautiful ice crystals you have to see them. She was so right. The ice crystals looked like white lights shining in the darkness from the deck. The rail and the deck box too were bright and shining. I watched the snow fall until I was too cold to stand any longer by the back door. This morning it’s raining. The wind was fiercely blowing when I got the papers and is still blowing, but it’s a bit subdued. It’s warmer than it has been the last few days.
My days have names. Yesterday was tree day. Today is decoration day as the trees branches have nicely fallen. I need to start hauling up my Christmas bins from the cellar. I hope to get to the boxes closer to the wall as there are some decorations I haven’t used in a while, and I like to alternate. I need to find my collection of tall, plastic, lit from the inside, Santas from the 1950’s. I also have Christmas Carol figures somewhere way in the back. I haven’t used them for the longest time. My mother used to say she had enough decorations to decorate several trees. I could say the same.
I have to shop because cookie day is coming. I need a list of ingredients and a lot of energy. My Christmas cards are still waiting. They are on the table in front of me making me feel a bit guilty that I haven’t started even though I have the cards and the stamps. There are still presents to wrap for my Cape friends, but I have all week for that.
The smell of pine is already filling the house.
Categories: Musings
Tags: Christmas tree, couds, days with names, decorate the tree, plastic Santas, rain, smell of pine, snow crystals, tree day, Wind
Comments: 2 Comments
November 15, 2016
Today I am accomplished. The first load of laundry is in the washer. I finally got tired of walking around the overflowing laundry bags in the hall.
The wind is blowing. When I look out the windows, I see brown leaves falling almost as frequently as snow falls. The weather feels chilly because it is damp. Rain is predicted for today, and the cloudy sky makes it probable. It is getting darker.
Maddie howled again last night. It is from loneliness. When Gracie and I slept downstairs, she slept the whole night. I feel so bad for her and wish she would join Gracie and me upstairs. She knows Gracie won’t chase her as she stands on the couch beside the sleeping dog when she wants to be patted. Gracie doesn’t even notice.
When I was a kid, I never got all that excited about Thanksgiving. There was no countdown like for Christmas. It sort of it just arrived. In school, we colored turkeys and wrote down why were thankful. I always said my mother and father. I was probably thankful for them, but I was even more thankful for knowing what to write down. The short school week was also a blessing but not one I mentioned.
Even though every week was the same when I was a kid, except for holidays, of course, I never really tired of the day to day. I ate the same breakfast every morning unless it was so cold my mother felt the need to make oatmeal to insulate us for the walk to school. We walked the same route to school every day. It didn’t take us long, maybe 20 minutes or so. On cold days we walked a whole lot faster both to keep warm and to get to school sooner.
I remember walking backward against the wind on days like today. My clothes would sometimes billow, especially my skirt. Every now and then I did need peeks to make sure I was walking straight on the sidewalk and to know to face the front when I reached the curb to cross.
I need the lamp lit to keep the darkness away. It was the same when I was a kid. I was never afraid of the dark, but it wasn’t good for reading, my favorite pastime when I couldn’t go out to play after school. I remember lying in bed, comfy and cozy, with the lamp lit behind and above me and an open book in my hands. It felt perfect, almost like paradise.
Categories: Musings
Tags: accomplishments, billow, brown leaves, chilly, cloudy sky, coloring, damp, falling leaves, howling cat, Laundry, rain, school, thankful, Thanksgiving, turkeys, vacation, walking backwards, Wind
Comments: 12 Comments
October 10, 2016
This morning came at 4 o’clock, but I did go to bed at 8 so the early day wasn’t surprising. Right now I’m catching up with the debate by watching MSNBC. I despair.
Yesterday it rained all day and last night the rain fell in a deluge. It was the wettest day in the entire year. The wind blew so hard I could hear it howling. Gracie wouldn’t go out before bed. She took one look and backed away from the door. Smart dog!
I will try and empty my luggage today. I might even do a wash. I did exert myself and go shopping yesterday for animal and people food. We will all eat well for the next few days. I figure one of the best parts of a trip is not having to do anything but enjoy the travel. My room is cleaned. I eat at restaurants. My clothes get washed.
In Ghana time is relative. The Ghanaians distinguish between African time and European time. If Grace, one of my former students, said she’d be at our hotel at 10. We figured if she was there by 11, she’d be early. I’m coming is a favorite Ghanaian comment. It just means that at some time the expected visitor will arrive. The only exception is at a red light. The time between the light turning green and the first horn is about a second or two.
I am glad for the cool days here at home. I spent my entire time in Ghana sweaty. Beads of sweat rolled down my cheeks, and the back of my head was always soaked. Needing a sweatshirt in the cold, early morning is a joy. I probably won’t think the same when the temperature drops to below freezing.
Ghana is not known for its coffee. It is always instant with either evaporated milk or milk powder. I am now on my third cup of real coffee. Maybe I won’t need a nap today.
Categories: Musings
Tags: coffee, debate, deluge, early morning, food shopping, late, rain, red light, travel, Wind
Comments: 18 Comments
September 5, 2016
When I woke up this morning, I was disappointed. Where was the rain? Where was the wind? All the forecasts last night had the storm starting Sunday night or early Monday morning. I was eager for rain, and who doesn’t like a mighty wind?
The weather changed in the last couple of hours. All we are missing is snow. It rained twice for a total of about five minutes, and in between the sun came out. The wind is getting stronger. The oak leaves are blowing and the tree branches are bending back and forth. The trunks of the pine trees are swaying. People are always drawn to the beaches during weather like this. The waves are as high as 6 feet. The energy from the wind and waves is palpable.
It took me only about ten minutes yesterday to ready the deck for the wind. I took the clay pots off the deck rail, took down the bird feeders hanging from hooks on branches and also took down candles hanging on hooks. I closed and fastened the umbrella. I’m hoping everything is safe from the wind.
Right now it is getting quite dark. I hope it means a rainstorm.
Today is a lazy day. My only chore is to bring the laundry from the cellar downstairs to my bedroom upstairs. The dump is closed today so trash will have to wait until tomorrow. I choose not to make my bed as I envision a nap in my future. Right now I’m watching TCM. The theme of the day is movies with devil or angel in the title. The Devil Makes Three just started. It is not a movie I have ever heard of before now. It stars Gene Kelly as an American serviceman in post-war Germany, specifically Munich. The description says he discovers a plot to revive the Nazi Party. I think it sounds like a perfect movie for a stay at home day.
Categories: Musings
Tags: Beach, clearing the decks, closed dump, energy, fold umbrella, Laundry, rain, remove feeders, remove pots, storm, sun, unmade bed, Wind
Comments: 10 Comments
March 15, 2016
Last night it poured. The wind was so strong I could hear the trees creaking as they swayed. It was still raining when I woke up this morning. The dismal day made my decision an easy one. I’m staying home. I’m not getting dressed; however, I will brush my teeth and maybe even my hair but no promises on that last one. I wouldn’t want to overdo.
The town where I grew up was first populated in 1634. I didn’t know that back when I was young and even if I had, it wouldn’t have impressed me all that much. I’d have just thought it was old. It has all sorts of houses but few of them are made of brick. The newest ones when I was a kid were ranch houses all in rows and looking alike. Most of the other houses were build in the 30’s and 40’s and after the war. There are three octagonal houses, two of which are on the National Register of Historic Places. When I was a kid, they were my favorite houses. I didn’t know until later that they dated from the 1850’s. The William Bryant house was my favorite. It sits on a corner, has a small porch and a cupola on the roof. It was build for a shoe cutter. My town used to have a few factories where shoes were made. I remember when they closed the last one. It was the one right down the street from the square. The other house I like sits on top of a hill. It has a porch that wraps around the whole house. I used to imagine myself sitting in a rocking chair on the porch and watching the world go by.
The neatest place is the Dairy Dome on Main Street near the square. It serves ice cream in the summer and sells Christmas trees in the winter. When I was a kid, it was a gas station. The building is six-sided and really does have a dome.
On one street are huge white houses all in a row. I always thought the rich people lived in those houses. They are right up the street from the old train station, the end of the line.
When I go to visit my sister, I sometimes take a ride around town to see what has changed and what hasn’t. I always wish the railroad tracks were still there. They were part of many a Saturday adventure.
Categories: Musings
Tags: 1624, brush my teeth, home town, National Register of Historic Places., octagonal houses, rain, ranch houses, shoe cutter, stay home, William Bryant house, Wind
Comments: 8 Comments
January 23, 2016
Today is hunker down day. The strong, howling wind is making the air feel even colder. It is dark like almost night time darkness. The snow is expected to start late this afternoon. The cape will get more than Boston. The last prediction I saw was at least 9-12 inches of wet, puffy snow. The worry isn’t the snow but the possible loss of power because of the heavy wind and the weight of the soon to be falling mushy snow.
Earlier four or five of the boys who live down the street were riding their scooters up and down in front of my house. Gracie loved watching them. I figured their mothers were thrilled the boys could play and ride and tire a bit before they are all housebound.
I have issues with snow. My house was 37˚ because the weight of the snow brought down wires. Once I was stuck in the house for almost a week before they plowed my street. I complained but it didn’t matter. You never know winter.
Despite everything, falling snow is still a wonder to me. I keep checking the windows hoping to see the first few flakes. Watching snow never gets boring. The angles and rhythm of the falling snowflakes are often mesmerizing. I stand at the door and watch, leaving only when I start to get cold. Gracie loves running in snow. When she comes inside, she is always panting, not from exertion but from excitement. Her fur is covered in snow, her face in Boxer spit. Gracie runs with her mouth open.
Five minutes ago I looked out the window, no snow. Just now I looked again and it’s snowing. The storm seems fierce because the wind is blowing the snow everywhere, in all directions. The flakes are big and are already covering tree limbs. It’s coming fast. I think they may have underestimated the amount of snow. I’ll keep checking and let you know.
Categories: Musings
Tags: 6-9 inches of snow, Boxer spit, darkness, freezing, housebound, hunker down, running in the snow, Snow, watching snow, Wind
Comments: 14 Comments
January 10, 2016
It’s raining. It’s pouring. The old man is snoring.
I don’t know when the rain started, but it is now a heavy rain and a strong wind. Outside is so dark my deck lights came on. The timer was duped.
I have written the start of several second paragraphs but have deleted each of them. Usually I have an idea which spreads across time and conjures memories. This morning I have nothing.
Sunday has never been a productive day. It was always church and family dinner day and some Sundays there was a visit to my grandparents. Nobody did lawn work, always reserved for a Saturday, and my mother didn’t vacuum or dust. She made dinner. Usually we stayed around the house. I’d read the Sunday funnies. The TV would be on a Sunday Matinee movie or a football game. I remember my brother watching and sitting close to the TV set, his legs bent and splayed behind him. I never found that comfortable.
The papers are so much bigger on Sunday. It is a three cup minimum to finish both papers. The Globe crossword takes the whole day as I fill in a bit then do something else then go back to it. I hate the crosswords where the longest answer is a quote and other answers finish the quote. Usually I start with the smallest part of the quote and work up hoping the answers will be hints. The capital of Ghana is often a crossword clue.
In the winter, I crave color. Often I buy myself a bouquet of flowers to remind me of spring and to brighten the darkness. The worst of winter is still ahead of me. January and February are usually snowy months. I’ll just have to be patient, never a strong suit of mine.
Categories: Musings
Tags: church', funnies, lights, papers, rain, Sunday, Wind
Comments: 24 Comments
April 28, 2015
The day is uninviting. The flags in my front yard are flapping and whipping in the wind. In my back yard, the pine tree trunks sway and almost bend. We haven’t any sun. It rained last night and the clouds just stayed around. Bleak comes to mind except for one amazing spot in the front garden where my forsythia has bloomed in the brightest yellow. It is the most hopeful sign of the progression of the season, of the emergence of spring.
We had a very small kitchen when I was a kid. The table was sandwiched against the wall and at best five chairs could be set around it. There were six of us, but my mother never sat with us so five chairs were enough. My mother was an at the counter eater. Even much later in a kitchen with plenty of room, my mother liked the counter. I never thought it was strange.
My parents never mentioned their pets. I think maybe my mother had a dog, but that memory is fuzzy. I know my dad didn’t have any pets. His parents were not pet people. When I was five, we got our first dog, a Boxer need Duke. From then on our house always had pets, usually a dog and a cat or two at the same time. I can’t imagine a house without a pet.
I don’t know how my parents became pet people. I’m thinking it was just in their natures. They had no history of loving dogs or cats, but they surely loved theirs and mine. Every dog I had was spoiled when visiting my parents. My dad would get a bowl of ice cream for himself and one for the dog. I’d bring up treats and dog food, but each dog turned its nose up at its usual treats and would stand by the fridge patiently waiting for my mother to give it some cold cuts and cheese. She thought it was funny. For Christmas one year my mother gave my dog homemade biscuits. Maggie thought they were manna from heaven. My father never met Maggie and neither of my parents met Gracie. My dad would have been roaring laughing at Gracie and her sass. Maggie would have followed him around and sat with him in the yard. She loved her leisure. I’m sorry that Maggie and Gracie never got to be spoiled by my parents. I, however, fill the gap. In my mind, pets are meant to be spoiled as sort of a small thank you for what they give us, for the love which is immeasurable.
Categories: Musings
Tags: being a pet person, bleak, Clouds, cold cuts, dogs and cats, eating at the counter, forsythia, growing up with a dog, small kitchen, spoiled pets, spoiling dogs, Wind
Comments: 21 Comments
April 3, 2015
Last night the wind was ferocious. I went to bed early to read, but the sound of the wind grabbed my attention so many times I stopped to listen. It was easy to imagine myself in a house on a cliff overlooking the ocean while the wind whistled and howled around me. The house would be a huge old Victorian filled with dusty rooms and mystery. The French doors in my bedroom, with the prerequisite long white, billowing curtains, would face the ocean. When the doors blew open, as they usually do in mysterious houses, I’d stand on the small balcony looking out at the water while the curtains blew around me. I’d see the huge white caps pummeling the rocky shore. That was about as far as my imagination took me before I turned off the light and went to sleep. Later I was awakened by the sound of the rain.
The day is a dismal one, cloudy and damp, but it is warm, in the mid 40’s. Much of the snow disappeared with the rain except in my neighbor’s front yard. Underneath their trees a tract of snow remains. The huge plowed piles on the corner are just about gone, but my neighbor’s snow, still white, resists the warmth and the rain. I guess it is winter’s last gasp.
The morning birds are the first sounds of spring. The leaf blowers are the second. My neighbor’s deck is now being cleared of winter debris. It won’t take long. My deck, on the other hand, has leaves and branches fallen and blown from the pine trees which overhang it. Cleaning all that debris will take much longer. My backyard has some huge branches which broke off during the winter. In the no man’s land between my house and the next, a pine tree trunk has split in half. One half, leaning on the branches of other trees, will be sawed into pieces and hauled away. The other half will be left in the ground.
Good Friday has always been a no school day, but starting around the sixth grade, I had to sign up for an hour vigil at the church. I used to sneak in a book and would read the hour away. It always went fast.
Categories: Musings
Tags: broken branches, church', cloudy, dismal day, Good Friday, howling wind, Leaf blower, no school, snow disappearing, split tree trunk, spring clean-up, Victorian mansion, vigil, white caps, Wind, winter's last gasp
Comments: 10 Comments
February 15, 2015
The Cape has the only blizzard. Everywhere else has a major snowstorm. The wind is the difference. It has been as high as 65 MPH here but is now slowing down. The snow has stopped in Boston. We will be the last holdout. Bitter cold is coming tonight. In Boston the wind chill will be -30˚. During the rest of the week the temperature will hover around 0˚. At the storm’s strongest, 4 inches of snow an hour fell last night. This winter has jumped from the 9th snowiest on record to the third, and winter is far from over. They are predicting another snow storm for Tuesday but a small one, only a few inches. The last two weeks have been described as an historic event.
I find myself talking aloud. I suspect it has to do with being stuck in the house with only the dog and cats for company. Gracie is the best listener. She looks right at me when I’m talking to her. She could be thinking I’m crazy, but I prefer to believe she is intently listening to what I have to say.
My Sunday papers are somewhere near the driveway. I am having withdrawal. When I opened the front door, I figured if I could see the papers I’d go get them. I didn’t even see the driveway.
Gracie went right out this morning with no hesitation. She really must have needed to go. She squatted then started to head for the backyard to finish her business but thought better of it and ran right back up the stairs to come inside the warm house. She is sleeping now, exhausted from her few minutes in the snow.
What to do today? Nothing piques my interest. The laundry is still in the hall, but I’m not so stir crazy that doing laundry has any appeal. Maybe I’ll watch a movie or read a book or maybe I’ll just stare out the window with glazed eyes and slacked jaw.
Categories: Musings
Tags: -30 windchill, 65MPH wind, blizzard, boredom, freezing cold, glazed eyes, slacked jaw, Sunday papers, talking out loud, talking to dog and ctas, Wind, Wind chill
Comments: 21 Comments
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