this morning I took my breakfast outside to eat in the early morning sunshine.  Within a minute I was back in the kitchen.  The unseen element of this sunny morning was the strong and gusty wind blowing across from the hills, making sitting outside very uncomfortable.

Once I had eaten my next thought was what can I wash?  It would be such a shame to waste the wind. Minutes later the beds are stripped and in the machine, and soon are pegged out on the line, blowing madly in the air.  I have had to return twice to adjust the pegs, it really is windy, and now a couple of hours later all is dry and smelling that magical smell you can only get from the open air.

Washing on the line was an everyday feature of my growing up years.  Everything was pegged out and then brought back in to air on the rack, a pulley in the kitchen.  Mum would stand and iron in front of the rack and place the freshly laundered clothes in piles for returning to wardrobes and drawers.

I guess in the days before tumble dryers or radiators, the line was the only hope for freshly dried laundry, and I do feel a connection to all the other Mums who have spent so many hours bringing clothes in and out of the house.  In my first house my neighbours would knock on the door to let me know the rain had started, and I would scurry outside to bring it in quickly.

So, once again us humans are using our environment to help us manage our lives.  When I go the sea in Wales or alongside the estuary of my home town, I am struck by the majestic sight of the white windmills standing proud in the sea, providing electricity for hundreds of people.  I enjoy watching the small crafts, sails up making headway across the water and I love watching the trees bending and waving while standing tall and still.

Walking with the wind at our back, although playing havoc with the hair, gives you the push to walk a little faster, and walking against the wind makes the journey more difficult.  It is strange to me that this invisible force of nature is capable of so much.

It is so interesting that something we cannot see, and struggle to measure, can be so powerful.  It makes me think about what other invisible forces can affect our lives.  Things like hope and love and imagination, all invisible and yet essential.  Many feelings and emotions are not on show to the world and many of us keep them buried deep inside, and yet like the wind they will surface and effect us from time to time.

So, next time the wind is blowing and the clouds are racing across a blue sky, take a moment to pay tribute to the invisible powers all around us and to focus on positive energy within us all.