Snow blowing sideways

Our local weather station at Baccaro Point is calling for flurries today, with a high of -1 centigrade. The flurries are flying across the island on a westerly wind at fifty five kilometres per hour. For comparison, we don't travel across the harbour if winds are above twenty five kilometres, and winds above sixty three kilometres are classified as gale force.  The wind is plenty strong today, and since it's coming from the west our west-facing house takes the brunt of it. It's on a day like this that we realize how many cracks and crevices our wrinkled old wooden house has.  I wonder if it would seem so cold inside if we could not hear the actual wind howling into the house. But we do hear it. It's just what days like this mean for us: we live close to the weather, like everybody who has lived on this island before us. 

On the up side, the sun is also shining, if weakly. This past week Greg began his north side clearing project, taking down the spruce trees that stood too close to the house and blocked our view of the dead forest.  On sunny days like today the standing dead trees -- snags, they are called -- are luminous when the sun strikes them, like ivory, or old bones.  Greg's clearing has also revealed the tumbled-down stone wall that bounds the north side of the property. We plan to restore that wall. But not today. 

Today the snow is light and airy, flying about. From inside, it feels as if our little blue house is in a snow dome that's being shaken energetically.