Nature's power and fury fascinate, frighten me and fill me with excitement. What woke me at 120 am? Was it the howling, roaring wind? The high pitched whine of the chimney cap I'd bought at the antique shop in Meredith, NH as it whirled madly? Or the frenzied cacophony of the buoy bells from Maine, the chimes Charlie gave me for my birthday, the chimes bought for Betsy as a child, the hand made bell from Joshua Tree and the myriad other chimes and bells hanging from the beams of the porch? It could have been any or all of those things. As I sat in the Christmas light lit bedroom looking toward the darkened night outside mental images of a roaring sea of air --changing tone and pitch as it eddied, rose, crested and fell moving into what had been an unusually warm space for this time of year. As the walls and roof of our solid, strong home creaked a bit with the buffeting I marveled at the fact that the most vulnerable areas of its structure, the windows, didn't even rattle in their frames. Pulse racing I listened as the wind whirled in circles and imagined the trees bending and their crowns turning and wondered if there was snow twirling as if in a snow globe. Would we lose power? Would there be icy snow on the ground come morning. On the cold air came--heavy and dense---pushing the warmer air with great force upward and eastward. I wondered if the warm air would continue out over the ocean and pick up moisture to drop as snow on Northern Europe. The temperature gradient was so great that the battle of air masses was fierce. And then, suddenly, all became calm. An occasional peal of one of the bells as the wind died down--exhausted and triumphant. So, I too, settled back down and drew the comforter around my ears and snuggled next to the cat and the husband who slept through it all. As my heart stopped racing from its wonderful exhilaration, I slept. And now, with wind swept snow --only a dusting and found in few places--and bright sun the cold air moves as a breeze and seems to dance gently among the few leaves still clinging to the oaks. For now, Nature is resting and preparing for the storm it is to bring tonight.
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