July 21, 2014

Taking advantage of natural resource is most enjoyable

On breezy days such as this past Sunday, I thank my stars that I am of the clothes line league. Seeing good old Mother Nature in action and my laundry dancing briskly makes me appreciate the winds that much more.  I guess the windy days that we are accustomed to do have their strong points.

Generally there are two leagues when it comes to laundry methods:  the hangers and the dryers.  I come from a long line of hangers. After all, who can resist the supreme essence of freshly laundered and air dried sheets.  It's one of life's greatest joys. And who needs an iron when your clothes are naturally whipped into perfect order? 

And then there's the therapeutic aspect to the process of hanging a basket full of wet laundry. So often in the interim from the brimming to empty laundry tub, most often I've worked through a problem, solved a puzzle, or resolved an issue. It's as simple as that.

In hanging out clothes to dry, there is indeed an art to the process.  It just wouldn't do to let one's more delicate laundry items dangle in the wind for all to see.   Discreet hangers know to position their laundry in such a way as to  keep privates private. Layering is a must.  So, socks and undergarments go on the line first, followed by shirts and pants, and finally the towels.

A few years ago I discovered a remarkable device dubbed as the Best Drying Rack, crafted by a family business in Cedar Falls, Iowa.  The name says it all.  It is indeed the best drying rack ever and I've been through two of them in the past 25 years.   My umbrella drying rack is often filled with flapping laundry and I love watching the wind toss the wet clothing until it is dried to perfection.

In days gone by folks would air dry their laundry year around.  That could pose a problem in the winter months, my mom recalls of her days on the farm, when clothes were freeze dried to a crisp.  After a day of hanging in the frigid temps the frozen clothes were gathered and stacked throughout the house to complete the drying process.  Sounds like a bit of redundancy to me, but I guess where there's a will there's a way.  

I  will admit that I'm not a hanger during the winter months and I rely upon that electric drying machine that lives in the basement.  But you can bet that as soon as the last frost sets in my outdoor drying rack is once again put into service.  After all,  there's got to be a reason that we live in one of the windiest parts of the entire country.  

When I was a youngster I recall wash day when all of our doll clothes were laundered and hung on the line to dry.  I even had a clothes pin bag and clips of my very own (still have it in fact).  There's nothing quite like the sight of a clothes line filled with miniature clothes.  

These days my lines hold regular sized replicas of my doll's clothing on a regular basis. It's a joy to watch them flap in the breeze and I liken it to the personification of the wind.  Wind is just a part of life on the prairie.  And we all know that nary a day goes by when there isn't a brisk breeze in these parts.  

Except last week.  I was amazed to discover while enjoying an evening motorcycle ride in the country that even the mighty wind turbines were stilled.  Dead in fact.  It was an eerie sight  indeed. I guess it was the one out of 365 days of the year when calm had descended on the territory.  I recorded the date for posterity.

Let's face it, we've got wind so why not use it.  As they say, when life gives you lemons, nothing better to do than make lemonade.