Winds were over twenty-five miles per hour this evening, causing the trees to toss above us as my dog and I walked through the park. A few downed branches attracted his attention and are now officially marked (how the mighty have fallen). At one point I made eye contact with a cat tensed some ten feet from us, ready to spring into fight or flight, but I guess all those gusts kept the feline scent from us, because Tycho didn’t even glance in its direction.
I love these winds, not just because they flood the city with coolness, but because they unsettle us. Everything is up in the air, as if anything could happen. The top branches are now the lowest. The cats can get close to the dogs. The smothering heat of summer can lift and we can all feel fresh again for a moment.