Let me begin by telling you I LOVE THE WIND. The stronger the better. There is nothing better than hunkering down in the worst of winds with a good cup of coffee and a book. Better yet, a windy nap under an overcast sky. On my favorite days, the wind blows at around 10 – 12 miles an hour all afternoon. Unless of course, nice hair and driving are involved. Then, wind is not my friend.
On the high desert plains, wind is a part of life. It’s one of the many reasons I love my home so much. Desert winds age or break everything. You can hear them coming like a freight train, much like huge waves at the beach. They always carry things away, leaving the air fresh and clean.
Yesterday, I came to know why some people fear the wind. During the storm, Oliver and I cuddled up on the couch, but not in a good way. A way that felt like we should really be in the bathtub with a mattress over our heads. A “tornado’s coming” kind of way. The winds yesterday exceeded 50 mph.
Here on the high desert plains, things are built to withstand winds. Winterpast has stood strong for almost 20 years. With the finest vinyl fencing, there is no wood or weather rot from sub-standard cedar that is sold today. Nope. This fencing is made for our winds and weather, while wooden fences become rot and then break. That being said, my fence did have one small break. The winds were that strong.
When the storm began, it seemed normal. Windy, but not terrible. On my to church, there were a few dust-devils, very common here. Nothing said, “Storm’s com’in” to me. Leaving the service to go home, the weather had changed with a dust storm upon us. Sand can ruin a perfectly good windshield or paint job. Not a place to leave a nice Jeep sitting out for the day. I scurried home.
Once inside, the winds howled. Around 4:35 pm, I lost power.
Losing power around here is always a time for me to catch up with my loved ones. Living alone, we all agreed that I should have a “Help! I’ve Fallen and I Can’t Get Up” button. The system is marvelous. It came with a waterproof shower button, an “Away From Home” button, a wrist watch for sleeping button, and a pendant. In any sort problem, whether from an errant dust rag, a power outage, or a real emergency, all my kids and my dear friend, CC, are alerted by text.
“Something’s wrong with the crone. Give her a call.” They all call me immediately to be sure it was a false alarm.
It’s always nice to reassure them that I am just fine.
The power was out for 2.5 hours yesterday. Pretty sure that Nevada Energy pulled the plug on us. I can’t blame them. Earlier in the day, a downed power line caused a fire in the biggest little city just to the west of me. I’ve lived here at Winterpast 26 months. This was the first and only extended power outage in my time here. That’s pretty darn good.
I learned that I have depend way too much on the internet to fill down time. My 100 watt light bulbs are necessary for my weak eyes. The soup I wanted to eat needed to be microwaved. My “Verizon Hot Spot” doesn’t work well in a storm. Everything that seemed fun at the time involved electricity. I also learned that 50+mph winds scare Oliver and me.
This morning, it’s time to go walk the fence line and look for damage. I’ll call the gardener and ask him to come prune some broken tree limbs. There’s new leaves to rake before summer comes knocking on June 21st.
Have a wonderful Monday! I’ll be back tomorrow.