Nothing like a little unequal heating of the earth's surface to make the valley roar. Its days like this that I'm glad I picked this spot for building our home. We're tucked into a little protected bowl, and thankfully avoid most of the brunt force of the wind.
So while the tree tops sway all around us, and the occasional blowing snow obscures our view, its not often that a peak gust hits the cabin... nor do we usually have to deal with drifted snow around the cabin. If we had a bigger clearing here, that might make a difference. And if we ever get a cabin built on the airstrip, then things might look different. But for today, we're happy to be snug in our home.
In the summer, our prevailing winds are west to east (upvalley), and in the winter it blows east to west (downvalley). That's how you can tell when spring is really here... when the wind starts to switch. Today I can see rooster tails of snow blowing off the peaks to our south, the Chugach Mountains which are our boundary to Prince William Sound.
It's not a good day to be out and about. Windchill is a very real phenomenon, and cottonwood trees are known to drop branches randomly. I'll go down to the chicken house when I'm done here, and light the propane lamp that keeps their water thawed- and give the goat some hay- and then its back inside for me.
Ben is finishing turning his marten hides, and said he plans to build another rack of nestboxes. Yesterday when I went down to steal some eggs from my girls, there were 9 hens in 8 nestboxes and 2 waiting in line on the porches.
I wish I could capture a sound track of the wind for you. Its roaring like a freight train all around us...