The wind is such a constant in Kansas we probably notice it most on those rare days when it’s not blowing. And if we’re honest with ourselves, we probably complain about the wind a lot - especially on those gray November and December days when it seems like a harsh north wind cuts right through to our bones.
But as I was working out at the family farm last week on one of those cloudless July days when the heat and humidity seemed to want to cook you from the inside out, I reflected on all those scorching summer days spent working in the fields when we would pause for a moment, grateful for a gust of south wind to take the edge off the heat.
Those breezes could make long afternoons on a swather or a tractor bearable (we didn’t have cabs on most of our field equipment), and moving irrigation pipe without a bit of wind could leave us feeling like we were toiling in a sauna.
I guess that’s why I cut the wind some slack during the late spring and summer. I imagine roofers, landscapers and construction workers, among others, can relate to my sentiments.