What the Palmer winds wrought

The big wind is over, leaving Palmer looking somewhat like a scarred moonscape, complete with craters and abrasions. Until we receive new snow, this pockmarked landscape will remind us of the fierceness and the strength of the “Matsurricane” which lasted nearly four full days. The “Super Cold Moon Wind 4 Day Hurricane” is still collecting names and the stories about this storm will continue to be written. Fields are scoured, large drifts of snow are now concretized, and all of nature’s debris is far-flung on the crusty remains of the snow.

Silence After the Wind—Hearing the wind stop is one of the best sounds in Palmer. The howling stops. The violent clanging of flag pole cables stop. Mothers stop moaning. Babies stop crying. Dogs stop whining. The silence is sweet. We treasure the abatement of the wind.

Palmer Winds are Powerful—We admit it and honor it. They can drive us mad and testy. Prairie madness is an old term that described a climatic affliction in the Great Plains. It focused on the isolation primarily but it has later been described as attributable to the winds that roared for days and days. In the Antarctic explorations, Ernest Shackleton wrote about the trials of the unending wind. They called it “amenomania,” which is an odd type of lunacy, oftentimes produced by wind visuals and madness. Regardless of Palmer winds duration or severity, WIND was the primary topic of discussion all week. Wind started off and ended all conversations. Winds’ presence directed our movements, our responsibilities and our lives. Errands were not run. Bird feeders and gas tanks were not refilled. We are grateful it is over for now. But we know it will come again.

After the Wicked Wind—This is the time to go hunting. We look for our trash can lids. Our garden ornaments. Our trampolines. The snow sticks. All of the items that free ranged last week, because of the wind, are now up for retrieval. Neighbors exchange items and stories about their week in the wind storm.

LOST and FOUND Items—all of these were crowd sourced from the Palmer Alaska Buzz Facebook page.

Found: grill cover, garbage lids, garbage cans, porta potty, canoes, tattered flags, doghouse, airplane, roofing material, 3 doormats and a shoe, shingles, millions of twigs, plastic sleds, utility sink, deck porch, lawnmower, fencing, signs, one car door, witch on a bike, greenhouse pieces, hats, mittens.

Lost: Purple beanie, 55 gallon rain barrel, round dog bed, 5 foot long black plastic pipe, holiday decorations, smoker, Traeger, favorite Filson hat, MTA utility box, child’s picnic table, black bin, packages from porch, wooden bear, garbage cans, canoe, strings of lights, bags of vegetables.

Grateful to Our Palmer Heroes—Finally, after the windweek, we thank the heroes. We thank the Linemen, the power companies, the telephone utilities, and the news providers and the radio stations. We thank the fuel deliverers, first responders, attentive neighbors, and the snowplow operators. We thank the road crews, emergency dispatches, law enforcement and fire departments. These continual and constant workers can never be thanked enough.

Christmas Colony Days is this weekend.—This is indeed the warmest, happiest community event that anyone could ever dream up. Keep your fingers crossed that the wind doesn’t join us. There are full schedules of zillions of activities….on Palmer Alaska Buzz Facebook. Dress warm and wear non skid footwear!

Barbara Hunt is both Palmer writer and artist. She works hard to keep the robust pulse of Palmer, Alaska. She shares the good stuff in the weekly Palmer Alaska Buzz Column in the Mat Su Valley Frontiersman and daily on the Palmer Alaska Buzz Facebook Group. Contact at bhunt@mtaonline.net or text 907.315.3222.