Real Surreal

A few miles up the road is a topographical bump called Cayuga Ridge.  This rise is just big enough to make what looks like flat land actually quite a "hill" for around here.  This rise also makes the area one of the best in the entire state of Illinois for harvesting wind energy.

We've got wind farms in these parts.

It will catch you off guard as you travel along I55.  For miles and miles you'll see nothing but flat farmland in various stages of production of corn and soybeans.  But as you near the Ridge, huge 100 foot propellers on poles erupt out of nowhere.  Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of them.  Their computer controlled motors seem to turn the propellers in unison, and at night, a blinking red light alerts aircraft to their position.
The. same. slow. red. blink.  Blink. Blink. Blink.

It's a tremendously surreal moment.  And fascinating. 
You pause, and watch. 
You're quiet.

And if you're out for a drive like we were a few summer evenings ago, you might tumble into a little adjacent town called Dwight. 

Three nights ago, a windy wind blew right through there. It even touched down in several places. 
It sheared off the tops of trees,
and unearthed others.

It sheared off the tops of houses,and unearthed others.

It was a tremendously surreal moment.  And fascinating.

You pause, and watch.

And then you see real people

who are struggling with this real loss...

You're quiet.

And then you keep thinking about how that surreal moment,

is someone's reality.