Very Very Very Cold

Well........so you think it's cold? It's not cold here by Fairbanks (Alaska) standards. They are located 6 hours drive north of us. But we're still pretty bad right now. We're in a cold snap.......earlier than is usual for around these parts. The cold snap is expected to last a total of 2 weeks from beginning to end. We'll hope that's not true, but the forecast doesn't look promising.

Right now it's only 5:30pm on New Year's eve. Rick and I both just got in from an hour or two working outside.......Rick unwrapping round bales and feeding them out to the cattle and horses. Me feeding and watering the dogs and the goats and sheep. Face cheeks feel a little dry and achy, but that will go away. I even got a new pair of cheap snow bibs at the end of year sales and those have made a very nice difference in comfort. So anyways, it's cold out right now.... it's -20F already. It should go to around -25F by sunrise when it's coldest out. That's -31 Celsius for Jenny and friends in metric areas. Fairbanks on the other hand is supposed to go to -50F which is -45C. Friends want to have a bonfire at their firepit tonight along with a few fireworks perhaps. I'm not quite sure if we're going to go and enjoy or stay in and watch a good movie....hehehehe.....

funny, when the temperatures drop, you can hear the wood framing and siding creaking and cracking. Pouring warm water into ice cold dog buckets makes any ice in the pop loudly. Silly cattledogs tho, they love the cold and still venture out in it with great bravado. Starting last Saturday through Monday, we had lots of wind here.......gusts all the way up to 60mph. Tuesday morning we awoke to quiet - no wind - and instead of 5 above during the winds, the temperatures began dropping. So yesterday I was able to take my 90 year old mom to town so we could both do our grocery shopping. Today I made the big run for plastic wrapped compressed bales of pine shavings for dogs and goats, filling up my truck with shavings bales, alfalfa pellets, and cracked corn for the poultry. A few odds and ends and several stops later, I came home and unloaded it all where it was needed. It does feel good to know everything is topped off, all the animals nice and comfortable, the house bin filled with firewood, and plenty of phone calls coming and going as people hunker down to make it through the cold spell.

I hope you have a wonderful and safe Happy New Year!