Tuesday, October 29, 2013

21 Degrees and Getting Colder

Here it comes.  Cold weather.  Oh sure, I knew it was coming.  But after spending the past couple of years down south, I can't say that I'm prepared too much for it.

We plan on staying here in upstate New York through the Christmas holidays and then heading to Florida.  Earl and Judi, who are older and much wiser, are leaving for Florida at the end of the month.

It is 21 degrees at 4:44 AM, which means that by 6 or 7 AM, the temps will drop another degree or two.

So?  Sew buttons on your underwear.  So Jeremiah's water will freeze.  And when Earl and Judi are gone, which is where Jeremiah is, they will shut down everything including their well.  We'll have to truck water over there every morning.  Hot water, to melt the frozen ice covering Jeremiah's water trough.

It's also chilly in the cabin.  Our wood stove is not air tight.   It is also not a top loader.  So that means it will only burn whatever we can pack in there, which is a three or four hour supply.  It's been five hours since I packed it and went to bed, so there is nothing but coals in there.  At 4:49 AM, it is only 72 degrees in here.  That might  sound OK, but consider that there is no basement on our rental cabin, so the floor (where my tootsies are) is probably 60 degrees.  I should move my butt upstairs where it is probably 80.

Such is life with a wood stove.

I knew it would be cold because it  was so clear last night.  Despite Pam's objections that I'm taking way too many star photos, I went outside and took a few anyway.  The sky was brilliant, as far as my night blind eyes could tell.


No, this doesn't get old.  This is a 30 second exposure, facing west, so you can see the star trails starting.

So today we need to get back to work.  I need to fire up my generator and charge the battery on the tractor, and fill the flat tire on the right front.  We need it for the back blade so we can plow sn...sn...sn...  snow.

It is now 5:03 AM.  I just let Olivia outside because she asked to go.   She immediately began barking her fool head off at deer crashing through the woods around the cabin.

Good job, Dave.

1 comment:

  1. Can't have too many star photos Dave. They are so cool. BE CAREFUL with the machinery! And especially hauling water! You don't need any setbacks!!!

    BTW, how many vehicles does it take to get Dave and Pams animal family to Florida?

    Answer coming up in a couple months.....

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