Whither Blowest the Wind?
The day before yesterday there were a lot of seagulls flying inland. One even confused my car with a landing pad. My daughter, walking by the cathedral in Santiago, saw many flying around its towers past midnight. Santiago is more than forty kilometers inland. When I mentioned these facts to my husband, he automatically said, "Gaivotas á terra, mariñeiros á merda." Which translates as "Gulls in to land, sailors to hell." And, yes, yesterday the north wind was fiercely blowing, and it was no day to set out to sea.
Some people prefer looking at the sky and checking where the wind is blowing from to watching the weather forecast on television. It's more reliable. My mother-in-law says that when "farrapos de lá" appear, the next day it's going to rain. She's almost always right, because those clouds that look like balls of cotton wool generally precede a weather front. Also, if at home we can hear our church bell chiming the hour, that means it'll rain in a few hours. That's because our parish church is to the south of us, and when the wind blows from the south or west it means a cold front is approaching with plenty of rain. When I hear the chimes, I decide the clothes are dry enough and bring them inside.
And consequently, when we hear from beyond the hill behind our house the whistle of the train stopped at the station in Catoira, that means hot weather is coming. That is because Catoira lies east from us and that easterly wind has blown up from northern Africa, crossed the meseta, and is dry and warm. It also keeps the fronts that cross the Atlantic at bay. The only problem with this wind is it also brings the thunderstorms that form over the mountains in the interior. Summer storms are known for their violence and lightning. When I see a thunderhead growing over the hill to the east, I make sure everything is anchored down, and start unplugging things throughout the house. The storms in winter bring hail and come from the northwest, after a cold front has passed, and when they come by I pray for my car's windshield.
The northerly wind means the best weather, with normal temperatures for the time of year we happen to be in. Which means winter nights on which you skedaddle inside as fast as possible. Those are the nights I feel like Laura Ingalls in The Long Winter in which everyone huddled around the wood stove in the kitchen. Central heating is one thing that has remained in the nineteenth century for most houses. Unfortunately, ours is one. And, believe me, throw blankets come in handy on winter evenings.
Some people prefer looking at the sky and checking where the wind is blowing from to watching the weather forecast on television. It's more reliable. My mother-in-law says that when "farrapos de lá" appear, the next day it's going to rain. She's almost always right, because those clouds that look like balls of cotton wool generally precede a weather front. Also, if at home we can hear our church bell chiming the hour, that means it'll rain in a few hours. That's because our parish church is to the south of us, and when the wind blows from the south or west it means a cold front is approaching with plenty of rain. When I hear the chimes, I decide the clothes are dry enough and bring them inside.
And consequently, when we hear from beyond the hill behind our house the whistle of the train stopped at the station in Catoira, that means hot weather is coming. That is because Catoira lies east from us and that easterly wind has blown up from northern Africa, crossed the meseta, and is dry and warm. It also keeps the fronts that cross the Atlantic at bay. The only problem with this wind is it also brings the thunderstorms that form over the mountains in the interior. Summer storms are known for their violence and lightning. When I see a thunderhead growing over the hill to the east, I make sure everything is anchored down, and start unplugging things throughout the house. The storms in winter bring hail and come from the northwest, after a cold front has passed, and when they come by I pray for my car's windshield.
The northerly wind means the best weather, with normal temperatures for the time of year we happen to be in. Which means winter nights on which you skedaddle inside as fast as possible. Those are the nights I feel like Laura Ingalls in The Long Winter in which everyone huddled around the wood stove in the kitchen. Central heating is one thing that has remained in the nineteenth century for most houses. Unfortunately, ours is one. And, believe me, throw blankets come in handy on winter evenings.
Comments
Post a Comment