Wind

At this exact moment in time, I'm sitting on my couch, next to my favorite person in the whole wide world, and I'm watching the wheat ripple, wave, and blow in the field right outside our house. The wind is blowing about 25 mph and that wheat is simply rolling and waving. For those of you who live by the ocean, imagine the water moving in the wind, but imagine it being green, not blue. That's just how the wheat moves. You can watch "waves" ripple across the field. It's actually a very pretty sight. Granted, 25 mph is a little strong, and I'd prefer it to be blowing less, but the wind is a part of life on the Great Plains, and to live out here, you have to learn how to deal with it.
The wind blows almost daily. Sometimes it's a light breeze, other times, it's rather nasty and can just about blow you over or blow your car off the road. During storms, the wind can push the rain or snow until it is moving more horizontal than vertical. Days like today are also extra hazardous if there were to be a prairie fire. The wind can move that fire very quickly making it very difficult for fire fighters to get under control. I know about that too, I've seen a couple of very big and very scary prairie fires. Blizzards, tornadoes, fires...all are additional factors you have to deal with when you have wind like we do.

I've read stories about pioneer women who were driven mad by the wind. I guess, growing up with the wind, I thought of them as being "weak," but, as I've aged, I've realized that they weren't weak. They didn't have well-built, solid houses, that could keep out the dust and dirt that was blown about. Their houses didn't block the sound of the wind, nor did the houses block the wind itself. Some didn't have windows. Some lived in soddies. Living more closely to the environment, it must have been very difficult to cope with the wind and all it brings...

Most of the time, I don't mind the wind. It's a fact of life, has been my entire life. It doesn't bother me too much. Oh, it is annoying, and for someone with hair like mine...it adds to my natural beauty. Yeah, my naturally curly hair, which seems to get curlier the older I get, just loves to do it's own thing when it's windy and humid. (Like today...) Poor Kev, he has to look at me and my hair on days like today...

But, all negatives aside, the wind can be a thing of beauty, and it is right now as that wheat field ripples outside my window.