The Wind in Our Willows

It is the time of wind. We are buffeted and rocked. The deck covering snaps and billows like the sails of a tall ship. Above us the willow branches reach after the retreating wind like forsaken lovers.

I have a new video camera, and though I'm just learning to use it I can show you the wind in our willows and the sun on the clay banks. And you can hear both the wind and the roar of traffic, which is amplified as it echoes off the cliffs.

The green blushes of our trees are early this spring. Along the road to town the apricot trees are in full bloom risking everything. This March was the warmest on record, and not just by a degree or two but by eight and ten degrees. But as April arrived the thermometer dove downward and we are now eight to ten degrees colder than average and wishing the sun of March back.