On days when the wind comes out of the northwest it creates waves as it blows against the current. When the wind is from another direction, it seems to go with the current and you would hardly notice at all.
When you row, you face the stern of the boat and you can never be sure what is ahead of you. So today was one of the days where you don’t realize the waves have whitecaps until you are past the curve of the river and right in the thick of it.
I heard the crest of a wave rolling along the bow. I waited, with the same breathless anticipation one has wading into a cool lake, knowing a wave is going to hit the bottom of your bathing suit before you are ready. The wave came, slapping me on the bottom before breaking over the decking on the stern of my scull, temporarily turning the decking to silver. The next wave came and broke against the bow stays, before rolling into the cockpit.
At this point, things were very turbulent, so we decided to turn around. As we sculled northeast along the Red, we could see clouds boiling along in the east. It looked as tho’ a huge storm was brewing, but the clouds did not spread from the eastern sky.
Perhaps growing up on the Prairies has given me an appreciation of the ever changing sky and I wonder if I would even notice the infinite variety if I grew up in the mountains.
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