26 February 2013 The moon was a ghostly galleon

26 February 2013    The moon was a ghostly galleon

Cassi Creek:  The high winds which were forecast to arrive last night held off until this morning in our part of the world.  Then they arrived in force. 

          When I took Loki out last night, the moon was just topping the eastern wall of the valley.  With the wind=driven lowering clouds diffusing its light, I was instantly thinking of Noyes, “The Highway Man.” 

          This morning there was a sort of break in the weather that allowed me to take Loki along and meet Mike for the hike.  We had the wind and mist at our backs for the downhill leg.  We also had a rather nice rainbow off to our West/left to brighten the skies.   On the uphill return leg, the wind was gusting at 20-30 MPH and the mist was replaced with little bursts of hard-hitting rain.

          Loki enjoyed the downhill leg but the uphill leg left her spooked by the wind.  We normally stop at Mike’s driveway to chat a bit and Loki knows to sit or lay down to wait for me to tell her “house.”  This morning, she was having no part of standing around.  When we reached Mike’s, she pulled on past, indicating her intent to keep going for the house. I let her pull me up the last 0.1 mile.

          The Midwest is once again sliding to full stop under blizzard winds and snow.  The storm is forecast to track in such a manner as to bring us only rain and wind.   But we are then under the gun for increasing snow probability throughout the next several days. 

          Right now, it is mostly cloudy with random periods of sunlight.  I can sit here and watch the trees bend as if they were the masts of a ship under sail, rolling back and forth.  There were branches down along the road all the way down and back. 

          “On a winter’s night, they say, when the wind is in the trees.”