Shifting Wind

It's cooler outside today. Not significantly -- only a couple of degrees, maybe -- but the wind has come up and there's something in it, something with a hint of chill. More a suggestion of things to come than a change in itself.

It is only a matter of time before that pile of leaves outside (the one that was briefly taller than me, till I jumped in it) is replaced by a pile of snow. Still a couple weeks off, perhaps, but today the weather has suddenly and abruptly decided to stop faking summer and accept its fate.

Really, it's almost a relief.

I'll be gone before first snowfall, most likely. What a strange thought -- winter back in SoDak, where the wind comes up and blows snow from one county to another, where there can be a six foot drift next to bare ground. Wisconsin snow is heavy, steady, and stays put, piling up until you're no longer shoving snow off to the side but lifting it several feet to clear a driveway. South Dakota snow is fine, dry stuff that whips and stings and only holds still after a crust forms over the top of a drift.

Both in the Midwest and in similar climates ... but entirely different experiences.

I have two weeks remaining as a Wisconsinite. Two weeks -- how odd.