The Sun and the WInd

One of the glories of Spring is being able to hang out the laundry. There is nothing to equal the effect on one's washing of having towels, sheets and outer clothing dry in the sun and a fresh breeze. The first warm daythis year, my laundry was dry within an hour. Besides that, everything smelled like clean, fresh air.

I started doing this again during the early days of rising energy costs. I have indoor lines to use in bad weather, and a small wooden drying rack for the things I don't want to have seen by passersby, such as my giant underpants. (I live on a corner and my backyard is open to scrutiny by all.)

Actually there are even days in the middle of winter when I can hang my laundry out, days when the sun is bright and the sky is that brilliant blue. I love to just stand and watch the wind whip the sheets about and think about being on a ship and watching sails flap. The cold even makes things smell better for some reason.

I feel sorry for people who live in the kinds of developments that forbid clotheslines. I remember when that rigged energy crisis hit in California, and some people who were trying to be "green" were fined by their homeowners' association for hanging out their clothes to dry instead of using their dryers. They were accused of lowering the property value of the development. I guess it's better to hide that fact that we get our clothes dirty and have to wash them than to conserve energy. I haven't had any complaints from the neighbors here, but then we don't have a "homeowners' association" here, thank God.