Here on the Down East coast, it seems that we have a fourth dimension. But, it’s often hard to take that additional dimension – weather – for granted the way we do the other three.
Last night, under a bright moon in a clear sky, we had wind gusts coming off the sea in excess of 35 miles per hour. As we speak, it’s a beautiful, calm December day that is tempting us to come hither. Yesterday, especially in the morning, we had rain that came down harder than can be explained by gravity. It was being tormented by strong wind gusts that regularly whipped water that wanted to fall vertically into water that had to fly horizontally. In Naskeag Harbor, the strong winds frenzied the flood tide there, as you can see in the image below (taken through heavy rain). Fortunately, no damage was done in the Harbor, as far as we could tell.
That was not the case a short distance up Naskeag Road yesterday, as you can see below. That Road had to be closed in part because several courageous conifers were slayed in the onslaught; they fell across the Road onto power and communication lines, with the usual consequences for the connected neighbors.
The wind also drove the rain onto windows and filtered the views:
Rain chains worked overtime:
As the wind abated and the rain tapered into a drizzle, familiar spruce trees and winterberry stalks appeared elegant in the soft light:
But now? Now it’s time to relent to the temptation to walk in the woods. (Brooklin, Maine)