Weather Watching
Today I am grateful for the changing seasons and the varying temperatures where I live. There are things to like about each time of the year. (And things to help make the things I dislike about each time of year bearable.)
I am also grateful for the interest and respect I have for weather and watching it unfold. That interest definitely runs in my family, with a couple of my brothers being particularly notorious for their weather watching. Then I married Darcy and he fit right in. Ask either one of us what the forecast is, especially if a storm is coming, and we'll be able to get you up to speed.
I think growing up on a farm gave us a fuller appreciation of all sides of the weather. We saw it across open fields. We spent time out in it daily.
It has become easier and more accurate to follow weather with the technology available. That is both good and bad. Many of you may understand the disappointment that comes with a projected snowstorm that moves too far north or south, or much-needed rain falling elsewhere.
But what hasn't changed is the excitement that comes with the first warm spring day or the first snow of the season. Weather provides a constant source of gratitude for me, because it offers variety and beauty and hope.
Weather deserves our respect though. If there was ever a reminder that "you don't fool with Mother Nature," weather is it. We never have and never will be able to control the weather, so it reminds humans of our small stature in the whole scheme of things. It's humbling and we need that.
I think about Superstorm Sandy, the recent blizzard that hit my family in Iowa, the windstorm that felled hundreds of trees in my community in June. I think about the post-tornado devastation I have seen and the 2007 hailstorm that shredded our gardens and trees and pelted our house so much that we got a new roof and siding.
Though it's not always friendly, weather is always fascinating.
I am also grateful for the interest and respect I have for weather and watching it unfold. That interest definitely runs in my family, with a couple of my brothers being particularly notorious for their weather watching. Then I married Darcy and he fit right in. Ask either one of us what the forecast is, especially if a storm is coming, and we'll be able to get you up to speed.
I think growing up on a farm gave us a fuller appreciation of all sides of the weather. We saw it across open fields. We spent time out in it daily.
It has become easier and more accurate to follow weather with the technology available. That is both good and bad. Many of you may understand the disappointment that comes with a projected snowstorm that moves too far north or south, or much-needed rain falling elsewhere.
But what hasn't changed is the excitement that comes with the first warm spring day or the first snow of the season. Weather provides a constant source of gratitude for me, because it offers variety and beauty and hope.
Weather deserves our respect though. If there was ever a reminder that "you don't fool with Mother Nature," weather is it. We never have and never will be able to control the weather, so it reminds humans of our small stature in the whole scheme of things. It's humbling and we need that.
I think about Superstorm Sandy, the recent blizzard that hit my family in Iowa, the windstorm that felled hundreds of trees in my community in June. I think about the post-tornado devastation I have seen and the 2007 hailstorm that shredded our gardens and trees and pelted our house so much that we got a new roof and siding.
Though it's not always friendly, weather is always fascinating.
Comments
Post a Comment