Windbreak

The forecast for the North Shore of Lake Superior is headed toward -54 below zero. Yes, you heard me. The winds are expected to pick up overnight, and our string of communities along the North Shore are prepared for a few days of old-fashioned winter.

This morning I was up before the sun and added three logs to the woodstove. There were still a lot of hot embers to make the fire go—the firekeeper’s ideal situation. I flashed back to our childhood home at the top of 8th Avenue. The NW wind would hit our driveway and the front of the house with full force. Like, walking backwards, frozen tears, hold-onto-your-hat conditions. The current homeowners have the benefit of a west-to-east line of mature Scotch pines that dad planted back when we were kids. He never really got to experience the full effects of his carefully planned windbreak, but at least someone is reaping the rewards.

May your embers glow and your furnaces stay lit.