Well! Winter finally arrived. Oh, it’s been cold enough, gray enough, even a modicum of snow to remind us that we live higher (above sea level) than most and farther north than a lot of folks, but it hasn’t really been a well-focused or intensive reminder. Until today.
In the last week the temperature has bounced between 8 below and 28 above, and several days of below 20 degrees even in bright sunlight. And wind! Enough to tell your skin you were at ten below zero. And skin is easily persuaded, I can tell you.
Yesterday was cold, about 17 degrees, but calm later in the afternoon. Warm enough to spend a couple of hours with the chain saw, wood splitter and my good neighbor who dropped by to help. Aside from cold hands, it wasn’t bad. I was reasonably warm in my winter garb of lined shirts and jeans and the adult version of a snowsuit. Most of the warmth that garment creates is getting in and out of it!
About midnight, when I went out to check the furnace before bed last night, it was a brisk 11 degrees, but calm. The black sky was penetrated by the millions of stars that we see on a clear, cold winter nigh. Warmed by the blaze in the firebox, I took my time walking back to the house. Buddy had a good roll in the snow and Teddy and Louie devoted themselves to licking the ice on the little pond near the door. Cold and clear.
And now it’s winter. Snow, light and dry, falling so fast that my footprints out to the furnace about ten O’clock were filled by the time I turned around and walked back to the house. Even Buddy (who goes where I go, when I go) was ready to come back inside. The forecast is for more of the same until late tonight, temperatures above ten but not by much, and then gradually shifting to sleet and freezing rain. Tomorrow, however, will be better: Some sun and about 36 is the call, so maybe we’ll just let it melt.
At least we aren’t in Boston.
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