The wind has been blowing hard all day, gusting up to 40 miles per hour, though it has been less ferocious that it was during the night. The cats have ventured out only for a bit, and then have returned to snuggle into afghans and comforters, reluctant to deal with the fury of the elements.

It's a dry wind, a typical southern California dry storm, blowing lots of dust and grit. The compressional heating as a result of these Santa Ana winds will drive the temperatures up into the 80's when the winds die down. But for now, the moving air removes your body heat as fast as it is generated.

I'm still stuffed up from my cold, and these conditions are just making me more miserable. I went out to do the necessary grocery shopping and then I stayed in for the rest of the day. The wind finds every chink for entrance, though, and the trees outside bend and sway and rustle and creak. Or maybe those are just the sounds of my joints when I stand up....

Did you see the full moon? It's at perigee tonight, the biggest full moon of 2009. So bright my bedroom doesn't need any interior lighting.