Mountain Wind

We have been back at the cabin in the New Mexico mountains for a week. Every single day, except for last Saturday, has been windy. The people that live here full time say this has been an unusually windy year so far. And it's dry here -- even drier than back in Texas. Last summer, the first time we came to this valley, it was green and lush. The valley now has the barest bit of green grass, and that is because two days before we arrived, there was a 13-inch snowfall.

When a front is moving through, the wind is continuous and can get fierce. Two days ago, wind gusts were clocked at 60 mph. Most of it, though, seems to stay in the treetops. And the wind generally comes in waves. It's a phenomenon called mountain or local wind. The air coming from the prairie, or from the desert, depending on the direction it is moving, collides with the mountains, and the air coming behind the initial blast, puts on pressure on, creating an upward column of air or wind. The pressure is so great that it forces the air well past the peak of the mountains, into the upper atmosphere where it is flattened by colder air, and eventually collapses over the top of the mountain. This makes the rush of wind that we hear when we sit out on our deck. It starts in the treetops, a sort of roar of wind, until it blasts into our area of the valley. Blows like hell for a few minutes, then calms completely once again, until the next buildup of air collapses down over the mountain peaks. It's quite an interesting experience. Like waves of wind, and that's what we've started calling it -- wind waves.

If the oncoming air is off the prairie from the direction of Texas, then it's possible that the wind will only blow through the treetops, and will miss us down on the ground completely. If it's coming from the desert, from the direction of Santa Fe, it roars down the valley until it finds us, and rattles the trees, blows the bird feeders, and gongs the wind chime. I like the sound of these waves. And if I'm sitting inside, wind whistles down the chimney and through the flue.

Every time we come for a long stay, I love it here more and more. We are in paradise on Earth. Great neighbors. I really wish we could stay longer, and maybe next trip we will.

Onward ....