Dirt-i-cane Season is Here....

   A "chamber o' commerce day" in eastern New Mexico (*wink*):  Actual factual picture of a windy February day in 2013.  Sustained winds of 40 mph, gusts approaching 50 mph.  Wind blowing dust into west Texas.

  I do believe the "Dirt-i-cane" season has arrived here in The Golden West.

  Last night there were wild winds blowing over our fair city.  The "breeze" carrying away dust and grit and stuff.
  One Amarillo weather guy said the gusts were up to 60 mph.
  I stepped outside to secure some of our yard stuff and almost got blown over.
  Either the winds are getting more powerful or I'm getting to be an old fart unable to keep my balance in our "refreshing" spring "breezes."

  If you live on the High Plains of eastern New Mexico and west Texas you live in a “Special Wind Zone.”       That’s what the National Weather Service calls it.
  I learned that one time while looking up the boundaries for America's "Tornado Alley."  The map had these little marked zones all over the country.  One of them sat right over our area.  The map said they were "Special Wind Zones."

  Come spring, come fall, the winds pick up and blow.

  I have no education in meteorology but to my estimation the winds of this part of the west provide the power for storm systems that bedevil the Midwest and east.

  Phoenix has its heat, there are hurricanes for the Gulf Coast and the West Coast has earthquakes.  In eastern New Mexico and west Texas there’s the wind.

  I admire those winds.  They show the power of nature.  I dig how the winds buffet the house, it made me think that inside was a good place to be.

  I first became acquainted with the winds of the region in Roswell.  It was May 1990.  I had just arrived in the Chaves County seat from Albuquerque.  There had been nothing in Albuquerque that would prepare me for the winds of spring in eastern New Mexico.

  I had lived in Roswell for about two weeks.  Early one morning as I stepped from my apartment I noticed there was a slight breeze from the northwest.  I’m a big fan of fresh air so I thought I’d open all the windows of my pad so I’d have a nice fresh place when I got off work.
  I knew absolutely nothing about spring winds in eastern New Mexico.

  After being on the job for a few hours I stepped outside into a roaring dust-filled wind.  I knew this was not a good thing for my apartment with its windows wide open.

When I got home everything was covered in dust.

  A year later I got to experience more wind and more dust.  I could find the gaps in my windows from the tiny little piles of dust on the window sill. 

  One afternoon while gardening I noticed it started to get darker and darker, but it was nowhere near sunset.  To the west was an ominous cloud.  It was a full fledged dust storm.  By the time the thing reached town an eerie kind of twilight was all around and I could only see about 100 feet away.

  I had heard about these winds.  For instance, I ran across an old book of amusing sayings and stories from the 50 states.  In the section about Texas it suggested if you wanted to head east from west Texas in the spring just point your car that way and open all the doors.

  I decided to try this.

  I had a little Subaru.  One spring day our winds were blowing a steady 40 miles per hour.  I pointed my car toward Texas, opened the doors and put it in neutral.  The car began to inch forward.  Five then ten miles per hour.  My top speed was 15 miles per hour.  It was kind of fun.  I was glad no policeman came by, he might have given me a free ride in a police car.

 Then I moved to Clovis…just a few miles from the Texas state line.

 Riding a bicycle around Clovis I would check on the winds daily in the fall and spring.  Made me think I was related to sail-boaters in some way.  I have to tell you, when you’re riding a bicycle around town there’s nothing finer than a good eastern New Mexico wind pushing you along. 

  One time, the wind was so strong against my back I was able to put my feet on the handlebars and coast for over two miles.  I was glad no policeman came by, I’m sure I was probably doing something wrong.  I got a scolding from the Lady of the House who told me it’s unsafe to ride with my feet on the handlebars.  Unsafe maybe, but it sure was fun.

  I was fascinated by the winds of eastern New Mexico.  I like how power companies put up those big windmills around the towns of Texico, Elida, House and Fort Sumner.  I thought maybe when I ran out of stuff to say on the radio and write about I’d get a job with one of those windmill companies.

  The Lady of the House nixed that idea.  She doesn’t want me climbing those 300 foot towers.

  “Leave that to the young guys,” she said.  “It’s not safe for someone your age.”

  She’s right, of course.

  I am getting to be an old fart.
  I might get blown off the top of one of those things.

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