Woke up with the wind whipping around the Lair. Hoped it would settle down, and it only got worse. The Lair’s down in a hollow, tucked into the crotch of a complicated ridge and only ten or so feet above the high-water mark of the wash, so I’m protected from the worst of the wind. If the wind was throwing things around down here, it was scouring the ridgetops. And yes of course it’s shit-shoveling day.
You ever try to keep horseapples on a shit-fork in a 50 mph wind?
The funny thing is that it’s not really cold at all. But man! The wind’ll drive your left ear right out through your right one if you let it. I started to overheat the minute I climbed back into the Jeep, but in the field I was sure glad of all the layers.
Your attention please – an individual wearing Al Qaida disguise was spotted in Arizona today appearing to collect hand grenades on the ground – drones are on the way to neutralize the threat . . .
The drones will have some fun with the topography and that gusty 50mph wind.
I’ve got “heavy wintery showers” and a force 7 wind (a gale) forecast for tomorrow. Wish me luck.
Luck!
Oh come on folks! 6″ snow so far, 30 mph wind, high for the day was 5 and it’s supposed to be -15 tonight which may be optimistic since it’s already -2. The good news is that all that is just part of what I love about the mountains. 🙂
PS; Looks like a good town haul. Keep warm.
🙂 Yeah, well, that’s why I don’t live in Colorado!
I moved to the desert! They told me the desert is warm!
Thanks Joel,
The interwebz weather thingy says the wind reached force 8 overnight.
The roof and chimneys stayed on the cottage, that’s the important bit.
but, in terms of more expected damage, there’s a big hole in the slates on the netty roof (a stone built outdoor toilet – only a single seater, and it’s redundant…)
a sandstone flag slate has come off the barn roof (they’re heavy buggers, about an inch thick and big ones are around 3 feet a side) and the ends have blown out of the old tin hay shed, and the old wooden poles it stands on have snapped at the base (they were rotten anyway) and it’s whole structure is leaning against the stone built barn. I’ll have to move the generator out and see about getting the digger here to pull it down.
Holy cats! That’s got us beat all hollow. How fast is a force 8 wind, in MPH?