Holding onto my hat-- with difficulty

It's been gray all day. We're in the midst of a windstorm, with occasional spatters of raindrops spitting at the windows. Walking to the building with wifi just now I kept feeling as though I were about to be swept off my feet. It's not as bad as the wind we had the other night, but it is, nevertheless, a perfect day for staying indoors and watching the sea froth and foam from a distance and comfortably behind glass. Never fear, though, early this afternoon, I kept the faith! I had to physically hold my hat to my head all the way down to the beach (even though the hand I used to hold my hat to my head was holding a walking stick at the same time. What a ludicrous picture that must have made!) And once I hit the beach, I had to take the damned hat off and squash it tight against the top of my walking stick so that I could use my sticks on the beach.

It was wild down there! The wind was blowing from the south-southwest, so it was to my back and my right side as I struck out for Point Wilson. The only bird life I spotted was three seagulls who were having a rough time of it, their feathers, as they stood in the fast-moving, foaming surf, actually ruffling in the wind. Twice I had to scamper up the beach to avoid a wave the wind was pushing up past the high water mark. (And the tide, at the time, was going out!) Given the strength of the wind, I decided to take the trail through the sandy scrub up to the road and walk back that way, since the wind is usually stronger on the beach. Have to say I didn't notice a difference! In fact, every time a gust came along, I had to struggle to keep the wind from pushing me sideways. I'd hoped to find the words for the last paragraph of the story I'm finishing as I walked, but I was too busy holding on to my hat and keeping my balance for playing around with words. Still, I'm glad I went. It was all very stirring and excellent for morale.