Dancing leaves and Flying Gazebos

I was driving home today in the midst of the most beautiful autumn day. I was musing about how the wind tugged playfully at the leaves on the trees convincing them to let go and dance together in mid-air. It seemed the leaves were playing a gentle game of wind tag as they bounced and fluttered in the wind - "These are Halcyon days", I thought.
I was mesmerized as I watched the dancing of the leaves as if they were moving to the strains of a distant waltz. It seemed I was one with the universe as I watched the skillful interaction of nature. I was awakened from my gentle reverie when the wind became more and more demanding causing the leaves to be caught in a wild frenzy of whirlish activity.

I turned the corner to our house only to catch a glimpse of our backyard gazebo. No longer the tall, proud, standing structure giving welcome shade to the summer throngs. It too had a notion to dance with the wind and I arrived home to the sight of our gazebo laying limply half on its side and half on its roof, appearing to be frozen in some sort of strange contortionist display, paste-ing itself against the patio door as if desperately trying to find shelter from the wind.

I called Joaquim to come and see the strange formation pressing against our back door and we spent the next half hour trying to set this structure back in an upright position, inching it along the wooden deck, leg by leg. With much difficulty we finally managed to place it back in its original position. All the while Joaquim muttering, "How could this happen?" ( because last time he looked out the window, it was not windy). I was tempted to rant on about high and low pressure areas and the law of thermodynamics, but instead simply said, "I could really use that bottle of champagne now". And so, this is how we started champagne Friday this week.......

So here I sit PUI (Posting Under the Influence), on this Friday evening, comfortably warm inside with the fireplace going, listening to the howling wind outside....just a nice place to be on a windy Friday night!

Footnote- I just love the word "Halcyon" - means tranquil, happy, calm, peaceful, carefree)