I may chat about my books, what I'm writing or reading, or just general thoughts. You may read posts about my cats or just my crazy life in general. Comments are welcome, if anyone wants to interact with me. Maybe we can share war stories, whether it's writing related or just about life in general.

Friday, April 26, 2013

Wind, a Double-edged Sword - Sculpting Beauty or a Force of Destruction




Kayenta - Sunni's Photo's



Snow Canyon State Park - Sunni's Photo's

Living in the desert, we are subject to windstorms, but without those brutal winds, we wouldn’t have all the carved, red rocks around us. The sweeping beauty of the canyons and sheer cliffs of rock walls rise up out of the desert plain, sagebrush, and cactus keeping them company. It took thousands of years to carve the beauty all around us. Without the wind, we would only have lumps of red, black, and cream-colored mountains to look at, all smooth and not near as intriguing as they are now. Amazing places like the Grand Canyon wouldn’t exist without the help of the wind. Therefore, looking from this angle, the wind is a good thing.

Grand Canyon National Park - Sunni's Photo's


Bryce Canyon National Park - Sunni's Photo's


Bryce Canyon National Park - Sunni's Photo's

However, I don’t relish it blowing 60 MPH in the dead of winter, when I have to go out and recover the poor plants I’m trying to protect, without freezing to death while doing it.

Free Clipart

It can also cause quite a mess when it brings blowing sand to clean up later. However, even this has its own beauty as I can look out my window and see it rippling across the desert in red-colored sheets.

In its milder version, wind becomes a breeze that can cool us on a hot summer day when a gentle puff of air is a relief. This can be as welcome as a tall glass of icy lemonade.

Free Clipart


Free Clipart

Without the wind we could never fly a kite or drift around in a hot balloon, once we got over our fright of floating around up there in a basket that only comes up to your thigh. Someday I will post that story.

Bushes would have to stay wherever they sprang up because nothing would be around to uproot them and carry them away to a different location.

Wind can also be a destructive force when it takes the form of a hurricane or tornado, ripping across the land leveling infrastructures, destroying homes, and taking human lives. Every year certain parts of the country fall victim to this destructive force of nature.

Flooding from Hurricane Damage

As people going about our daily lives, we probably never give much thought to the wind, unless it directly affects us in some way. The wind always draws my attention to it all the time because it’s a part of living in the desert.

We have had the barbecue almost blown off the patio a few times. It has blown over heavy medal chairs that have fallen and broken things and has blown with such gusto as to move a cargo trailer we have parked on the side of the house. One time it even took the trashcans and beat over $300 worth of damage into my husband’s truck. We now keep a chain around those cans at all times. Everyone in our neighborhood has lost things to the wind, blown away into the desert and probably miles away.

On one occasion, a dust storm came up while I was at the grocery store. By the time I loaded the car and got in, my mouth was full of gritty sand.

Maybe this post will be a reminder to some of just how much things in nature can affect us everyday.


8 comments:

  1. Nature is both benign and malignant, its bounty and beauty welcome, its ferocity terrifying.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Connye,

    I agree. Thanks for your comments.

    Sunni

    ReplyDelete
  3. We have very strong winds here in the high desert of CA. It can be scary at times, especially for the cats, but it also makes some really creepy sounds that inspire me to write. :)

    #atozchallenge, Kristen's blog: kristenhead.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kristen,

      I have to agree with you. It can blow 60 mph here, and carry away what isn't tied down. The cats do get spooked wihen it howls around the house, but it is a good writing time.

      Thanks for reading.

      Sunni

      Delete
  4. Bryce is one of my favorite red-rock parks. It was quite windy here in Seattle today as I was out digging holes for new plants. Probably not as strong as by you but more than I'm used to. I got those plants in the ground, though. All is well.
    Jagoda

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Jagoda,

      It was pretty breezy here too, and we were barbequeing outside - had some people over. All went well, but I'm glad it wasn't any windier. Sometimes I'd like to bottle it for when we really need it to cool off in the hot summer when nothing is stirring.

      I'm glad you got your plants put in. I've been cooking and cleaning so much that I am way behind on my blog reading and posting. Hopefully, I can catch up tomorrow.

      Thanks for coming by and reading.

      Sunni

      Delete
  5. Interesting post and beautiful pictures. I've got a new found respect for the wind. It's always windy where I live (kind of on a hill) which makes it cooler than anywhere else in town, mind you it's something I'm grateful for on a hot summer's day. :)

    Have fun with the last few letters of the challenge.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Jessica,

    Thanks for reading and posting. It is hard to believe the challenge is already coming to an end.

    The wind is welcome on a hot day. I'll check out your blog tomorrow.

    Sunni

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for stopping by to read and
comment on my posts. I appreciate it.
Sunni