Blustery day

I love the word "blustery". It's so evocative (incidentally, I also love the words "evocative", and "incidentally", and "exoskeleton"...I guess I just love words!) Anyway, as I was saying, the word blustery is really evocative, not just of the weather itself, but also of how a day like that makes me feel. Specifically, like I want to stay inside, bundle up, drink soup and watch movies. Today was certainly a blustery (and cold!) day on the island, but I only got to do some of those things.

I didn't stay inside, but I did bundle up in warm layers. I had to, since it was extremely cold when I started my day outside very early, taking a walk this morning in the pre-dawn darkness. It was beautiful walking under the moon and stars, and past the still-shining lighthouse. I discovered that this is a good time of day to walk uninterrupted. I know I wasn't the only one awake - the commercial fishermen were out well before me. And I saw lights on in several houses, a couple of vehicles, and even one other walker, which I think was my neighbor Laura (it was hard to tell for sure, since we were both pretty bundled up against the cold and it was still dark). We said "good morning" to one another, but there was no temptation to stop and chat. When you see someone else walking outside on a freezing cold day, so early it is still dark, the only logical assumption is that he or she is walking for exercise; therefore you let him or her keep walking!

I did enjoy some delicious ham bone soup, which had been cooking in the crock pot all day. I haven't watched any movies yet, but I could still put in a DVD...the night is young. I think I'll bundle under a thick comforter if I do watch a movie. Just hearing the wind whistle through the trees outside is making me feel cold!

Here are a couple of pictures taken at the National Park Service boat launch area. The first one shows the choppiness of Pamlico Sound in the windy weather. If you look at the extreme right of this one, you can see the water shooting up as it hits the rocks. The next one shows a flock of seagulls, hunkered down to stay as much out of the cold wind as possible.