Chasing Hats

This morning as I listen
To the wind up in the trees
I'm reminded of perspective
For it's just a gentle breeze

To those whose life is rooted
On the open Plains
Where the howling of the Northers
Rattles window panes,

Uproots the Russian Thistle
That becomes a Tumbleweed
And sends it ever rolling
Spreading all that noxious seed

And how it's hard to walk
Without leaning to the wind
Unless you're chasing hats
That the whirling banshee sends

Flying 'cross the prairie
Where it lodges against a fence
Until you run and try to grab it
But, a gust catches it and hence

You're left standing, leaning,
Braced against the grit,
Abandoning the headwear
That still hasn't lit

But, races with the tumbling balls
For chance to take it in
Upon a place where it might wait
Until you run and try again

And you turn to face the onslaught
With your hand to shield your face
Against the rolling, prickly tumblers
In their helter-skelter race.

Blue Norther

I understand the Panhandle is looking forward a cold front passing through.  Growing up in that part of the world, I am quite familiar with the weather.  Thoughts of experiencing it inspired the following:

As the light begins to rise
I look toward the north
And see a line of darkest blue
Down low, near to the earth.

The breeze which blew from south, then west,
Has settled down to calm;
The period of quietness
Just before the storm.

I watch the low and scudding clouds
As they precede the blow
With swelling gusts and puffs of dirt
From the Arctic start to flow

And then it hits as though a wave
From off the polar ice
Has rolled across the placid Plains
With tumbleweeds as froth.

It's Carhart's, gloves and woolen cap
As temperatures do plunge
And stinging drops which turn to ice
Begin to pelt the earth

Leaving coat of crystal clear
On all that is exposed
To howling winds that bite
The face and chill the toes.

And tiny stinging balls of sleet
That sing of more to come
In form of swirling flakes of snow
That soon begin to pile

Behind each post or clinging plant
Where shelter give it home.
And each long, mounting pile of white
Is pointing to the south,

Accusing that which left behind
Wrapped up in bitter cold
Those who surely know
The Blue Norther passed this way.

Wind Warnings

Our weather forecast for the day is one that we don't see often.  We are under a wind advisory with winds 20-30 and gusts to 45 mph.  There are high-profile vehicle warnings and concern for debris on roadways.  Such warnings are rare here.

It seems like a strange thing to write about -- the wind -- although, if you look back to some of my posts from 2010 and 2011 when we still lived in the Panhandle you will see a number of them.  I suppose for most people it isn't something they think about on a regular basis.  I grew up with wind.

In the High Plains area of the Texas Panhandle/South Plains region the wind blows almost every day.  It is usually just a light breeze but, can be a howling gale that sweeps everything before it.  Winds in the 20-30 mph range with gusts to 45 are not uncommon.  They happen frequently in the Spring and in the Fall and the Winter, but usually not as frequently in the Summer.  It is the one time of year when there are many days with only a light breeze.

Many years ago we moved to Nebraska.  We were in the southeast-central part of the state which is much more humid than the western part of the state.  I recall one of the first days there when there was absolutely no wind.  It was creepy.  It took me a few minutes to realize what was wrong.  It was totally still.

Where we live now is much like where we lived in Nebraska except warmer.  We rarely get much below freezing in the winter, snow is very rare and the humidity remains high throughout the year.  Because of the lower elevation here, water saturation levels in the air sometimes make it difficult to breathe -- at least for this Panhandle born individual.  We also have many days with little or no wind.

I guess I'm looking forward to a windy day today.  I'm curious to see how folks around here will handle it....

The High Plains

Pale straws bend as unseen
Forces sweep
Across the nearly featureless
Landscape
That stretches for miles
Unending,
Broken occasionally by
Deep green
Sprays of needles and
Dried stalk
Of the yucca known as
Bear grass.

I lean slightly into
The invisible
Never-ending force of
The wind,
That restless, timeless
Bringer
Of storms and drought
And change
Upon this landscape
Swept flat
By Eons of scouring
Movement.

I am covered by a sense of
Peace
When a slight hint of dust
Tickles
My nostrils as I gaze
Across
The seemingly forever
Plains.
It is the serenity of being
Home.

A Hint of Moisture

There was the smell of rain
On the air last night
And a touch of cooler weather

The promised moisture
Only came near
But, left us dry as ever

And today again
The wind does blow,
The sun is bright as ever

But, finally now
We've had a glimpse
Of perhaps some better weather

Another Day of Wind

For days on end
The unrelenting wind
Scours the parched land.

The temperatures soar
As the months wear on,
Yet barely mid-Spring.

The sound of sirens
Carries upon the gale
As another fire rages

Removing dead fuel;
Last year's grasses
That might have sustained

The few cattle remaining
On the moistureless land,
Once so verdant.

Tears glisten on a creased face
Whose years of labor
Are loaded on trailers.

Another pasture burns.
Another herd is gone.
Another rancher hunkers down.

Writing the Wind

My posts have been fewer than intended these past few weeks.  It is partly a matter of too much travel but, also because of the wind.  It seems the wind just won't stop in the Texas Panhandle this year.

Why is the wind preventing me from writing?  I guess because it is incessantly in my head and when I sit to write, all I can think to write about is the wind.  I don't want to write about the wind.  I want to write about something more cheery.

I guess I could write about my travel.  I have been traveling almost constantly since the first of the year.  I just looked back on my calendar to see where I'd been and it is crazy.  Here is a list of places I've been since the first of this year:

Belville, TX
Kakamega, Kenya (via London and Nairobi)
Nashville, TN
Pigeon Forge, TN
Denver, CO
Montgomery, AL
Columbus, NE
Hickory, NC
Nashville, TN (again)
Bowling Green, KY
Belleville, TX (again)
Lumberton, TX
Baton Rouge, LA
Bowling Green, KY (again)
San Antonio, TX
Garden City, KS
Kenansville, NC
Harrisonburg, VA (via Washington, DC)
Garden City, KS (again)

Probably some other stops along the way that are hidden in the blur.  And April isn't even over yet!

I guess the advantage of all that travel is that I don't have to endure the wind every day like I would at home.  The travel is just me out there riding on the wind I suppose.  Even writing about my travel turns into being about the wind.