Called the pilot at exactly five o'clock.

AM, of course.

The trees were shaking, and could see a huge cloud bank to the northeast. He said winds were averaging 35 mph, with gusts well above that.

Certainly not pleasant flying weather, especially so close to the ground like you have to do to count antelope, but it's doable. We did it on the flight last month. The real crucial question is the direction the wind is coming from. Whatever you do on a windy day, you do not want to fly on the leeward, downwind side of ridges and mountains. The air mass slides up the mountainside that faces it, but then swirls and tumbles down the other side. Really dangerous eddies, whirlwinds, vortices and downdrafts.

Real bumpy, too. Which we all know is my main concern. I let the pilot worry about all the safety issues.

This morning's horrific wind was from the west and southwest.

We need to count on the northeast side of the highest, steepest mountains around.

Back to bed I go.

Twenty minutes later, the pilot calls. He had to go to the airport anyway, to open a hangar for someone else, and he's calling to let me know the winds have really died down. And most the clouds are dissipating. We may be able to fly, after all. He just needs to check weather at the airports northeast and northwest of us to see if the same is happening to their air.

Get dressed. Lay in bed, in boots, and wait.

05:38. A depressed pilot calls to inform that no, the northern stations are not seeing a drop in wind. One even just had rain, and loads of clouds still left. Three different layers, even.

Strip. Back under covers.

06:30. Pilot calls again. The northwestern airport is reporting decreased cloud cover. The wind is pushing the grey stuff out. Best of all, their wind is from the northwest. That would be a cross wind against our mountains, not dropping down over the top.

We could fly in that.

Dress again. Head off to the airport.

See huge cloud bank to the north, not visible from pilot's house in town. Don't even bother telling dispatch we might be getting up in the air.

Our wind is still west-southwest. Northwestern airport has good winds for us. Northeastern airport's winds are bad. Real bad. Maybe only way to find out if we can fly, is to go up and fly.

I ruefully complain that someone should have built an airport due north, where we need to fly, so we wouldn't have to guess about the weather. Light goes off in pilot's face, and he dashes into the office to grab the phone. And calls the gal who lives at and runs the little, lonely gas station 45 miles north of town.

Her front window weather report?

Clouds. Lots and lots of clouds.

But with the wind whipping the way it is, she doesn't expect them to stick around for long.

Which answered both our weather questions. And off to breakfast we went.

Try again tomorrow.

Sometime early in the afternoon, I am informed that yes, we are still going to Central City, as planned by the wife. With youngest son. Eldest son stayed home to tend to the heelers, and get hours and hours of uninterrupted internet time.

When we crossed the new bridge, the wife and I both reflexively glanced over to look at the old one. The plastic memorial flowers still clinging to the rails near the midpoint. Some been there for the full 16 years, I imagine. The newspaper reported eight or nine of the jurors signed a card and left it at the site after the trial.

Not surprised.

This was basically just a hurry-up shopping trip. Spending our money in another community. ("Leakage", our local merchants call it.) Shopping at a mall! Pet store, bookstores, shoe store, Magick store. Books for wife, DVDs for eldest son, leather coat (graduation) for youngest son. Shoes and camera batteries for me. Grit and seed for the dove, new truck water bowl for the heeler sisters (I've drunk out of the stainless steel one the wife got them to replace the cracked old butter bowl. Horrific taste of iron, within microseconds of the water entering the bowl. No wonder they gave me sad looks and wanted to drink out of the bottle.) Pounds and pounds of rich chocolate cocoa. And dog food we cannot find here.

Oh, yeah. Raspberries. Couldn't resist.

Then...

Dinner at Botticelli Ristorante Italiano.

Veal marsala for me, veal parmigiana for the wife, and some sausage/pasta mixture cooked in Russian vodka for the youngest son. Had to swap my salad for the wife's minestrone, as she discovered it had zuchinni in it.

Good minestrone.

And the usual bread with vinegar and extra light olive oil. With seconds. And dark chocolate cake.

A fine meal, as usual. Got to sit on the eastern side of the restaurant for the first time.

Yes, they're completely non-smoking now. Wonderful, and busy. What a surprise.

Thought youngest son was going to have a fit after dinner (he had evening plans back home), as the wife drove clear back across the city to get Arby's sandwiches for the eldest son and heelers. I only dared have her stop for the sunset once on the drive home, risking his wrath, having to take all the rest of my shots on the run, so to speak.

Need to get to bed, but I'm still stoked up on caffeine from the drive home. Winds are supposed to be down, and skies clear, for a 5:30 takeoff tomorrow.

Umm, that's four and a half hours from now.

To bed.