Here it is again!

First site before coffee this AM. Wind was ripping through the trees and pushing the seas. From what seemed like out of know where. The easy day that was yesterday was gone in a hurry. Southerly winds churning up the water to a hurried pace. The trees were just bending to the force of this sudden mala. Glad I had a great ride yesterday and I was not facing this monster today. My first cup of coffee was huddled up in the bird watching chair. The little birds were being blown like I had never seen. One slip and the little bird was off in the wind like a leaf. Several time I thought the blurs were leafs! No, just these back yard birds unable to stand the pressure of the gusts from off the water. My first cup of fine warm coffee was ready to be the second. Just as I sat to start this second cup, in the chair, pop. Electricity was gone. So common here on the Island. Another tree to weak to stand in the wind today. Another power line now broken or bent. Another line fuse poped to avoid a desaster. The crews are on the way. Good thing the gas stove in the family room is still on. It's not all that cold at 41 degrees outside. Still it was going to cool off quick, if not for this little gas heater. How long would it be before the line was restored. The wind was still blowing hard. Looking for another tree to give into the game of the day. A game that plays it self out here, over and over. Mary Anne would be needing some coffee to, once she woke from the warm covers. I pulled out the butane cook stove. My now favorate cooking tool. It so easy to use and cooks better than any stove I have used. No point in waking Mary Anne to early. The internet she needs, that runs on electricity, is now down to. So boiling water to add to our cold brewed coffee was easy. Just add the concentrated coffee to hot water and there it is, a great cup of low to no acid coffee. Add 1/2&1/2 and it's perfect for both me and Mary Anne. So coffee was easy. The wind strorm is still blowing full force. The birds are doing their best to hold onto the feeder we have out. It's a lot harder today. The rain seems to be on the other side of the Sound. Miles away, being blown South to North. Just a few drops on the house.
Did I tell you how nice it was yesterday? Mixed clouds 41 degrees, no wind. Maybe it got to 39 degrees here and there on my ride. A ride that was a slow day ride after a monster hard ride on Saturday. Sunday was a recovery day. No ride. Monday, yesterday, was get the cold riding gear on and roll a nice easy set of gears on the bike for 3 hours. I took the same route as Saturday to see how much faster I went then, than Monday. Keep the work range in about 65%. Saturday had been more like 85% with real effort in the climbs in much larger gears than normal. So I was expecting the easy ride to take 15 or 25 mins longer than Saturdays ride. I like these easy day rides. Just easy does it on all the climbs. Never going into the red zone. Even on the climbs. Everytime I started to push I slowed back down. Eased off. So as I got so the last 5 miles I noticed the time. I was thinking I was goning to get home in about the same time as the fast ride of Saturday. Humm. Just kept the pace steady. On the last 2 miles the clock was just shocking. I was 5 mins ahead of Saturdays pace. As I turned into the driveway I was 7 mins fast than the same ride on Saturdays hard push. What is the story here? It's the samething I see everytime I do this. Running the gears correct at a high RPM at a lower effort gets you there fast. It uses a lot less energy to. So I could go for much longer. Several more hours. I learn everytime I go out.
It was time to get Mary Anne up. Boil some water. Have a cup of hot coffee next to her as she wakes. Gently bring her to the day. A day that is anything but gentle out side. It is still blowing full force. There are a few moment where the storm seems to catch it's breath. Then just let go again. Mary Anne and I are going to need a nice mid morning breakfast. Eggs, taco meat, refried beans, green hot sauce. Easy to do in one mid sized saute pan. It was so good! Just as we finised the meal together, pop, the power came back on. It had taken the wonderful crew 3 hours to get the grid working again. In that time I had missed a big back yard drama. A Sharped Shinned Hawk, that is using our back yard as his meal table had his morning meal as we did. One less Dove or it could have been a Quail. The feathers were everywhere. I like to witness these events. Last time it was a smaller bird. The Sharp Shinned was in the bushes running down a Juno. It was life at it's best. For the Sharp Shinned Hawk.