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)