Squalls

Tonight’s Sunset – Photo: L. Weikel

The weather provided a bit of drama today. Just the name of what we experienced, ‘snow squalls,’ invokes a different vibe than our usual fare. And what put the squall in those ‘snow squalls’ was the wind. Oh, how the wind played into our experience of horizontal snow, creating near zero visibility for several minutes. Best of all, though, was how cleansed everything felt after those squalls blew through.

This February has felt more like what a ‘normal’ March should feel like. February should’ve had more snow – or at least more cold days (and fewer eerily mild ones). The fluctuations from one day to the next in temperature and temperament are much more akin to those we would expect closer to the arrival of Spring. Which makes me wonder just what we might have in store by the time we reach the dog days of August.

Just an odd cloud dancing in the wind – Photo: L. Weikel

Brisk Walk

By the time we took our walk today, the snow had subsided, but the squalls were still threatening. As we hastened to pick our way through the fallen limbs and broken branches strewn across our path, the tops of the trees arching overheard danced and groaned and creaked, and loudly shushed in the few that retained their leaves. Pacha and Brutus kept peering upwards, suspicious of both the wind and those riding it, from honking geese to screeching hawks, with a clattering stick or branch thrown in.

The colors of the sunset were stunning.

Everything felt freshly scrubbed, indeed scoured, by the squalls. While the wind whipping around my face took my breath away, it simultaneously filled my lungs with crisp sustenance that is the antithesis of the stale indoor air typical of Winter.

I feel like I’m breathing easier this evening after today’s walk, which is interesting, since it was probably the shortest I’ve taken in several days. It was the squalls; I just know it. They were the perfect infusion of freshness with just a tad of wildness, too.