The holly bush beside the front door...the little red berries a sign that Fall is All Over Already.
I know winter doesn't officially begin until December 21st, but everything else around here says that Autumn has left the building. The lovely leaves are no more, just brown gray sticks waving about in the cold air inspiring...well, not much of anything in my book. Last night the wind howled and howled and I never did get to sleep beyond about an hour...definitely not enough.
I love the ocean, going to the ocean to visit, and seeing the immense possibilities of it...but I have to say, I could not live permanently by the ocean. It's just too noisy. The waves going about to and fro, the surf constantly pounding the shore...last night's wind reminded me that I grew up in the night silences of northeast Iowa and anything else just seems foreign and unsettling. Yes, the wind would howl in Iowa much like it did here last night, etc., but it stops after short bouts...the ocean's noise is relentless and does nothing to quiet my soul.
The wind yesterday, last night, and continuing today makes me apprehensive and restless. It's one of those days I would love to think that if I click my heels together and repeat three times, "There's no place like San Diego..." that maybe somehow I might be magically transported like Dorothy to Kansas...alas, I am fairly certain it only works in movies with yellow brick roads and Munchkins. Where would you like to be transported today?