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B is for Blowing in the Wind

© Gary W. Taylor

March arrived - its usual windy self - and got us thinking of that old saying, "March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb." Wonder if that will apply this year?

It has been a windy winter here in the Adirondacks. That is probably the thing we'll remember most about the winter of 03-04 - the fierce wind. We notice it a lot here at home, surrounded by 90 acres of farmland. The wind has a lot or room to wind up and really get going by the time it hits the north side of our house. Luckily we have a wind break of 20 foot tall pine trees to slow it down a bit.

We also really noticed it at the ski areas this winter. There were many days that started out fairly calm here at home, but by the time we got to the mountain, it was really whipping. Irene remembers standing at the base lodge hoping trees weren't going to blow right over on the chair lift cables.

Of course, in winter you also get wind chill. According to NASA, "Wind chill is based on the rate of heat loss from exposed skin caused by the combined effects of wind and cold. As the wind speed increases, heat is carried away from the body at an accelerated rate, driving down the body temperature. The wind chill temperature, an 'apparent' temperature, gives us a better estimate of how cold it really feels outside. The measure of the rate of heat loss based on air temperatures and wind speeds is not a temperature, but it allows us to understand how quickly heat is lost to the wind."

So, on a day when it is 10 degrees, and the wind is blowing at 30 miles per hour, the wind chill is minus 12 degrees! (According to this calculator: http://observe.arc.nasa.gov/nasa/earth/w... Doesn't sound too bad - and I know we've skied when it was colder and the wind was blowing harder! The best I can say is just bundle up!!

Being sailors, we are also very attuned to the wind and its direction. This winter we had a lot of wind coming from the northwest - usually a very chilly arctic wind. They say wind chill is only for people to feel, but I know our house was shivering, too.

Now that it is March, and spring is possibly on the way - those winds can be put to use with a favorite March pastime - flying a kite. I have a very fancy 6-gang kite set of Trlby kites - 6 kites all attached to each other, with long tails, in beautiful colors, and controlled by two handles. They are called sport kites and can be made to dip and swirl and go in lovely circles. We like to fly them out over the fields in the back before the corn gets planted. They are also great on a beach if you live near the ocean. Here's the link to Trlby: http://www.catchthewind.com/kites/trlby....