Day 5 - 332 -- Loudness Outside the Window

I was awake much of the night due to the sounds of the storm. The winds howled as they pelted rain against the house. The bits of snow became watery slush piles that the wind threw around a bit. Loud thuds and banging on the roof above the bedroom were most distressing. Around 3 AM I headed outside to see if there was a tree limb of something being tossed about on the roof. I stood out and watched as the wind gusted, but saw nothing. The noise continued into the mid-morning, though it lessened as the wind died down a bit. I went out to push the slush off the walkway, stairs and driveway. Several times the northerly gusts required that I stand with my back to the wind and leaning onto the shovel so it wouldn't become a sail. Each time, I watched the roof to see if any branches bent to touch the roof -- again nothing. While in the backyard moving slush, I heard a loud thud behind me. All that was there was slushy snow. It must have been a bit of snow from the top branches falling as the branches to flailed in a writhing dance with the major gusts. That must be what had been hitting the roof all night. Some of it sounded very loud, but if an ice ball hits something in a 60+km speed, I guess it would be rather loud.

At one point early in the day, power was out for half of the power customers in the province similar to PEI. By mid-afternoon that had been halved. With more winds coming tonight along with more rain, I expect the power will continue to be on and off in many areas. In town, the University closed due to power outage where it came on only briefly and then went back out. The sporadic nature of power access caused many businesses and offices to close, too. My power had flickered a lot during the day. As I've noted this, I tend to touch wood (makes me feel like an old druid <smile>). Forecasters suggest that tomorrow might be better than than the past 36 hours. Time will tell.

A song that seemed perfect for the experiences of the last day is shared here today. The lyrics and visual speak to the sounds dealt with today but also carry a solid bit of social commentary. Enjoy!

Noise -- Kenny Chesney