Last night as I went outside to lock the girls in for the night I could feel the weather was once again changing. We had enjoyed a few really nice days where we actually made it into the thirties.
As I stood outside, the snow was falling (as it had for much of the afternoon) and the wind was picking up. Looking toward the barn I could see the snow sifting off the roof and falling in a fuzzy sheet onto the ground.
As we listened to the weather man he told us that it was, once again, going to dip below zero during the night. It was definitely going to be a night for the heat lamp in the chicken coop so I headed back outside, (once again), to go plug it in.
Waking up this morning, the snow had stopped but the wind had not. As I made my way to the coop to check on the girls, the wind was bitter. It did not take long to numb my face and drive the cold through my big yellow farm gloves to also numb my fingers.
With the weather this cold and the sky so clear we were treated to a rather beautiful sight….sun dogs. I have no idea why this phenomenon is called sun dogs but you know it is almost beyond bearable cold whenever you see them.
For those of you who are not familiar with them; it looks like we have three suns. The real one in the middle and bright lights on either side. Today the sun dogs were brilliant and lasted a long time. It was rather ironic that only two days ago we had commented on the fact that even with all the cold weather, we had not yet seen any sun dogs.
I didn’t stay outside long to take a lot of photos this morning; as the temperatures were just to harsh and the wind to cold to do so. Today was the kind of day where you only went outside to do what was necessary as the temperature never did get above a balmy -4º. It was truly a day to stay in and stay warm.
There is one consolation to the way this weather so quickly changes from a beautiful day to a freezing one….you know it can change back just as fast. I am ever hopeful that this will happen soon!
If we can believe the weatherman (and I choose to on this one) we only have to survive this sub-zero cold for a little bit longer. As my husband was putting more wood into the woodstove tonight I could hear him mumbling, “Just one more day…..”
It brought a grin to my face but I was in total agreement with his heartfelt words. These are the days to hang on to the fact that this cold will not last forever….spring will come…and with it….days that are warmed by the sun and not by the wood in the stove.
In cold weather a good rule is to light your fire first
before doing anything else.
It is always more sensible to keep yourself warm
rather than trying to thaw yourself out later.
Mors Kochanski
The Chicken Grandma 