ARCTIC COLD SNAP

What's December without some cold temperatures, right? When we arrived at the farm on Thursday (Dec. 3), the high for the day was 31, but as frigid arctic air moved into our region, the daily highs dropped and we found ourselves coping with real cold.

Mike had watched football all day Saturday and into the evening, but before retiring we decided to watch an old movie – Scott of the Antarctic, a British film produced by Ealing Studios in 1948. Perhaps you know that in 1912 Scott's expedition with the goal of being first to reach the South Pole came to a tragic end. We were prepared for that outcome before the movie began, but I found it unnerving that as the wind shrieked and howled around Scott's tent it also shrieked and howled around our house. The temperature dropped to about five with wind chill factor of -22 or so. Wind gusts were at 30 mph. I could never be an arctic explorer!

We retired late that night, putting it off as long as possible because of the cold. Once we were upstairs in bed, we listened to podcasts for a while, then slept fitfully as the wind storm continued. It was hard for me not to think of the ill-fated Antarctic expedition. Mike and I were both awake before daybreak but stayed in bed for some time, hating to face the cold. Mike got up first and got a fire going in the fireplace. I found the silk undershirt that matched the old long johns I've been wearing and put it on under my sweatshirt, then donned my fleece jacket as a top layer. We spent the day in the living room close to the fireplace – Mike watching football while I decorated the tree. Mike and Nellie ventured out several times; I never left the house except to take this photo of a herd of mule deer from the porch – a buck and his harem. The high for the day was 11.9 with wind chill at minus 10.2 at the warmest. Finally we decided other heat sources were in order. Mike turned on the propane wall furnace and I made supper and brownies in the oven. The wind continued to gust until it died down somewhat in the early evening.

At bedtime it suddenly occurred to me that perhaps we hadn't slept well the previous night because we were cold – you know, not really cold, just not quite comfortable. I found another blanket and reconfigured the bed to keep us warmer. Then I suggested that Mike share my crocheted shoulderette shawl. He put his head into one of the cuffs and remarked that it helped immeasurably. And sure enough, we slept soundly all through the night. (By the way, Nellie slept in the woodshed only Thursday night. The other nights she enjoyed cozy winter naps on her pillow in the living room.)

Monday before returning to town we had to winterize the house, which entails removing cartridges from shower faucets, draining pipes, putting antifreeze in toilets, making sure the dishwasher and the washing machine are drained. The freeze had already started in the upstairs bathroom. It's a lot of extra work at this time of year, especially when we want to spend Christmas there, but it just can't be helped. KW