URGENT – WEATHER MESSAGE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX 206 PM CST SUN JAN 22 2012 …A WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR MOST OF NORTH TEXAS THROUGH 7 PM… .A POTENT UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM MOVING NORTH OF THE REGION IS SPREADING VERY STRONG AND GUSTY WINDS FROM WEST TO EAST ACROSS THE REGION. WEST TO SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL BE SUSTAINED FROM 20 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS OF 40 TO 50 MPH. THE STRONGEST WINDS WILL OCCUR IN THE AREA GENERALLY ALONG AND WEST OF INTERSTATE 35/35E.
I read the weather forecast last night, fearing an outbreak of fire with such oxygen rushing through dry brush and grass. From the back porch, I see eight miles to the Cross Timbers hills and ridge lines toward Stephenville and Hannibal. Neither smoke nor fire can be seen, only dust and the affect of wind.
I seek to take photographs that will reflect the aridity, the drought conditions as well as today’s fierce wind. As I have written before in another post, if you wait for the wind to die down or cease in Texas to work, you will never get anything done. True. A good pair of sunglasses and sunscreen provide protection as well as a sense of humor to work and play here in central West Texas. To play hard and lose one’s self, one forgets the wind.
In the 1970s, at holidays with family in the Panhandle, near Canyon, Texas, we played football after dinner (served at noon), and we played with windy conditions. Across a large front yard providing turf for, say, forty yards of a playing field, we had to compensate for the strong prevailing winds out of the southwest or northwest — low, short passes. The teams were co-ed and young wives and female cousins ran and fought for every yard along side their husbands and relatives — one female cousin became a colonel in the Marines. Touch football rules prevailed, sometimes flag football with a bandanna hanging out of our blue jeans. The wind begone, we played anyway. Of course, we forgot about the cold and wind as we played together at Thanksgiving, Christmas and once in the summer.
Here at the ranchito, the wind blows today, but there are no contests in the front yard, only birds tucked fast in the branches of the live oaks or nestled in pasture grass. Here are some photos I took about an hour ago.
This view is towards the southwest, showing the dust in the distance and the leafless trees.
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Wind whipping grass blades on terrace.
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View towards Lilly's rock cairn and the Blue farm beyond the mesquite tree line.
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Looking towards the west.
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From the back terrace, I shot a thirty-second video of the landscape to the southeast. Not much excitement in the footage, but it’s the middle of Winter.
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Sage to Meadow ~ Jack Matthews 
Howdy Jack –
Apparently the people who call Chicago “the windy city” have never spent any time in Texas………
True, Cowboy. We’ve had a real windstorm today. No fires and that’s really fortunate. Thanks for your comment. Hope all is well.
Jack, your header picture of you and Fanny? is absolutely wonderful, adorable! I love it! Great choice.
Rubia: Thanks. Yes, it is of me and Fanny. I changed the header and thought I would put in a little green and humor and my filly. Thank you for your comment. I am always happy to read what you write. Your contributions to the blog are crucial and important to me. I have often thought about opening up Sage to Meadow to co-authors. You are on the list.
I sure know what it feels like to consider high winds and fire. I guess we are pretty fortunate here that we have little wind, but when we do have some in late summer when it’s hot and dry…
I enjoyed the photos!
Montucky: I’m glad you liked the photos. Your photos on your blog are always so very good. I wish for snow sometimes to capture a new reflection, but we do have mild winters.
You folks sure do get some serious wind in Texas. It must really dry things out, not that you need that! I love photos of your ranchito, it helps me to picture about which you write.
Bill: Thanks. Your photographs on your blog gives me a picture of your place too. Yes, it does dry things out. We are expecting some rain today! And, little wind.
Hello Jack, that really looks windy. I love the photo with you and your horse. Thanks for the video, it’s interesting to see a piece of your land.
I hope you are well.
Grethe ´)
Hi Grethe: The horse is Fanny. She was one of the friendliest horses. I am well, gradually getting better. I can see much better, but I did not lying down for five days. Thanks for your comment.
Well, see? One of the great advantages of being slow to comment is knowing things may have changed. I certainly hope you were the recipient of some good rain the in the past day or so. It looked like it, from the radar.
When that wind was blowing, I saw a photo taken in further-west Texas. I can’t remember where it was now, but think it was somewhere in the trans-Pecos. Great, roiling clouds of red dust – everyone needs more rain.
One of my favorite Texas landscapes involves the live oaks of Rockport. They’re small, because of the wind, and they’re all canted, because of the wind, and even when the wind isn’t blowing, you feel as though it is because the trees have taken on the shape of the wind.
Oh, yes, Linda, I have received between 4 and 5 inches and the cow tank is full, running over I think. I’ve seen trees like you describe at Rockport. Amazing. Beautiful comment you wrote. You are always so poetic and rich in description.
Hello Jack,I have received your mail where you tell me that you can’t get through to comments on my blog. I’ll have my son tjek it to-morrow. I haven’t had problems with my blog – yet. But I think there are some problems elsewhere. Kittie has had problems with her blog Google.
Obviously also problems with e-mail. I could not send my answer to you. It came back with some error. I haven’t had problems with other e-mails – yet.
I’m glad that you told me. I’ll have it examined.
Grethe
Grethe, I send you and email that I will use Google to comment. Thanks for commenting. I read your post on the children that need to go into nature and really, really enjoyed it.
Hello Jaack, yes thank you for the mail. I have had examined my blog and it seems there is nothing wrong, but it might come to me too, for Kittie Howard has had some problems and with her other bloggers among her follwers. She told me today that Google is consolidating things – and they do it by country and region. I don’t know if this is what is inflicting on your connection? I hope it will disappear by itself. I don’t like when they change things!
Thank you for your nice comment about the children-post. I feel it is so important. Our children are our future.
Grethe ´)
Saw your post about rain. Most important too to get some rain!
Grethe: I will post by Google and I know there will not be a problem. I’m sorry you had to go to the trouble and check things out.