wild wind Archives - Owl Medicine: Shamanic Healing

Simply Stunning (Day Before Wild Weather) – Photo: L. Weikel

Wild Weather

Today’s wild weather reminds me a bit of the storm we had ten years ago right around now that dumped a whole lot of snow on us. Because it came so early in the season, the trees still retained an abundance of leaves, which made the heavy, wet snow especially damaging. Not only did we lose the stunning fall foliage too early that year, but massive branches and sometimes entire trees also succumbed to the weight of the snow and the sheer power of the wind.

I’m not even sure why I’m thinking about that vulnerability at the moment. Maybe it’s just sitting here listening to the wind rattle our shutters and cause the maples, ash, black walnut, and shagbark hickory trees surrounding us to groan and creak.

It makes me wonder whether the trees ever remember those other times – when as bad as this weather is, it was worse.

Ascension Sunset – Photo: L. Weikel

Slogging Through Rain and Memories

Karl and I went to a high school production tonight, the first one we’ve been to in probably ten years, maybe eleven. Not only did it bring back a cascade of memories from the nearly twenty years of school productions that included our sons, it was also one of our first forays out into a crowded public place in nearly two years.

It was a mixed bag, to be honest. A lot of people weren’t wearing masks. But even before we encountered people in an enclosed space, to get into the high school itself we had to race across a huge parking lot in wind-driven rain that instantly soaked us, in spite of our rain gear. The school’s parking lots were wall-to-wall cars. We were startled to see police on hand to direct traffic, but it all made much more sense when we asked someone which building to go into and heard there was a football game taking place as well.

Just the thought of attending a football game in that weather made me feel old. No thanks.

The production itself was fun and well done, and the cast clearly took great delight in finally getting back up on stage after the pandemic hiatus. There’s a palpable exhilaration that exudes from a cast that enjoys playing together. It’s been a long time since I basked in that feeling as a member of an audience.

So much going on in this… Photo: L. Weikel

Life is Different

I know it’s trite for me to say, “life is different.” I mean, seriously. Duh. But even just driving to and from the production, things felt shifted, somehow. Moved to one side. Perhaps it was the weather. Maybe it was the prospect of the impending reversion back to standard time lingering in the back of my mind. Just the thought of it getting ‘this dark’ an hour earlier had a chilling effect on my mood.

But then, once again, the whipping wind, pouring rain, and tree limbs littering the roadway somehow reconnected me with the primal reality that we so often forget when tucked inside our cocoons.

I have no photos of the wildness of tonight. But I’m happy to share some of the photos I took yesterday of a ravishingly captivating sunset.

Honestly, I don’t even know where to begin with these photos. I probably could’ve just as easily skipped all my words tonight and simply shared these images. They evoke something within me that verges on…I don’t even know what. Something else. A reality decidedly a few clicks away from ‘this’ one.

(T-28)

If I Didn’t Know Better

It’s almost midnight and the towering pine trees across the road from our front door are leaning away from the surging wind, bending and hoping they can withstand the relentless onslaught coming at them from the west. If I didn’t know better, the sound of the wind punishing those trees make me think of angry surf pounding the beach during a Nor’easter.

We already lost our electricity once this evening. I’m grateful it was restored within fifteen minutes. We’re lucky; I know. As I listen to our windows rattle and the air bombarding us literally causing a “Wooooon-oooo” that sounds like a stereotypical ghost, I just hope the trees in our area can stand firm.

Our walk this afternoon revealed lots of broken limbs shattered on the roadway. Probably not unrelated, we also found at least three different chunks of plastic trim from automobiles near these smashed branches. I’m not sure if they were there last night when we walked. It was too dark for us to notice. But it’s a fact that we scour our roadways daily, so I’m thinking these trees did some damage to passing vehicles yesterday.

Sky Fire Sunset 1 – Photo: L. Weikel

What a Difference a Day Makes

Just yesterday, before we took our walk, we were initiating our porch to the 2021 spring season. We knew we needed to get some porch time in as expeditiously as possible because the forecast for today was precisely how it played out: dark, wet, and dreary early, with a dramatic shift in temperature and temperament late this afternoon.

The sun and light yesterday kept shifting and changing in every moment, to the point where we were practically on sunset overload. We were so enchanted by the ‘sky fire’ that we ended up taking our walk later than usual. I was thus relegated to taking most of the photos of the sunset from our porch – all but the final shot, which I took as we walked ‘widdershins’ – counterclockwise – around our usual circuit.

Sunset Sky Fire 2 – Photo: L. Weikel

Lion or…?

March may still have an opportunity to go out like a lamb this month. We have a couple more days left for it to change its mind and tame its ways. But between trees that have been ravaged by the Emerald Ash Borer and the soft ground left even more juicy by all the rain we’ve had, I think the chances of us remaining unscathed by the temperamental attitude of this month is slim. It feels like a potential Lion in/Lion out this year. But we’ll see.