Arborist Nightmare

I could hear the wind all night long, blowing in waves over our house. I heard the occasional screech of metal on metal as our neighbor's shed moved with the fluid waves of air, rolling down the mountain, through the foothills and onward towards the plains. I slept soundly under a small mountain of blankets until just before the sun rose when I woke in the half-light. I lay there listening to the sounds that had been blowing their way into my subconscious. Occasionally the gentle hum of the heater would chime in, the domesticated cousin of the wind storm.



Our purple pool was pulled loose from its home. I could see it in my mind's eye as a the wind picked it up and flung it across our backyard amidst a new carpet of fallen leaves. When I went to let Bumblebee out for her morning constitutional she looked up at me as if to ask, "What happened out here?" There were leaves and branches everywhere, an arborist nightmare.



The seasonal shift isn't occurring without a violent struggle. Leaves are being pulled from their branches and tossed into the air, flying far from their home. Birds struggle against unforgiving currents of air and reconsider their original plan to rest here in Wyoming for a few months before heading south.

When the winds come to Wyoming I am learning that they will stay until April. So I am settling into this new season of living inside, being under one roof instead of long days in the backyard. I have a cup of hot tea at my ready. I am excited to begin a new season in our first home. What are you looking forward to as the seasons change?

Random Friday

Today I have a lot of random things on my mind. So I hope you are up for a little Friday randomness.

First you will notice the adorable photo of Mia to the left. She has taken up this post underneath our new lamp. She sits under it pretty much the entire time we have the lamp turned on. I am sure she is just soaking up the warmth from a nice little perch.

Next I was wondering about the plural for mongoose. Did you know that it is mongooses? I really feel like the plural should be mongeese. C'est la vie.

Did you know that my name is pronounced differently than you think it is? My name is Maria Rose, but Maria is pronounced Mariah. Apparently the pronunciation is Norwegian. In my defense the song from Paint Your Wagon, They Call the Wind Maria (click for lyrics), has the same spelling and pronunciation as I do. Additionally there is the Marias River (click if you want to learn about a river) in Montana and it is pronounced like Mariah's River. Anyway I got my first name from my Great Grandmother and I wouldn't change it.

One more thing about my name. I had a teacher in junior high who gave me the nickname Windy because a) He knew the song They Call the Wind Maria b) I talked a lot in class. He made me sit in a special desk up front so I wouldn't talk so much. Strangely I think it made me talk more.

I am excited for the weekend. Do you have any exciting plans?