Friday, January 18, 2008, 22:55
Deep Freeze
We're in the deep freeze again here at Rural Route 2. The temperature Thursday night at midnight was 10 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. Friday morning, the temperature was 2 degrees above zero, and the sky was cloudy.
For all of five minutes, the faintest of snow flurries fell Friday morning. The flakes were so small I could barely see them. Then the wind picked up, the sky cleared off and cold air rushed in with a vengeance.
I always feel more cheerful when the sun is shining, but when the windchill is about 15 degrees below zero, even if the sun is shining, I don't feel all that cheerful. The high temperature Friday afternoon was 3 degrees, but of course, it remained far below zero with the windchill factored in.
I took Charlie for a walk around the hayfield when I had finished feeding the horses Friday morning. The snow is frozen hard enough that I can pretty much walk on top. I tried to coax our Sheltie, Pixie, into going for a walk, too. She sat down by the barn and watched us go. I think the wind was just too cold for her.
Charlie and I made it around the hayfield, and on the south side, we veered off into our old pasture to walk on the snowshoe trail. We got about three inches of snow on Thursday, and even though it was a dry snow, WOW! were the roads slippery. I had to drive into town Thursday afternoon, and when I had almost reached town, I discovered I had to slow down for the sheriff's department. Two cars had collided (I think one may have coming out of a side road), and the wreckers were just getting the cars loaded at that point. Deputies were motioning for traffic to slow down and wait. No problem. No problem at all. I was not eager to become embroiled in an accident while the sheriff's department and wreckers were cleaning up another one.
Three inches of snow on Thursday, however, was not enough for me to go out on the snowshoes Friday, so I was content to walk along the snowshoe trail with Charlie. When we got back to the house, Charlie was more than willing to back inside and settle down on his blankets in his kennel. I was ready to go inside, too.
LeAnn R. Ralph
Wednesday, January 16, 2008, 20:12
The Great Toilet Paper Caper
When I went outside to feed the horses Wednesday morning, the toilet paper roll looked like this.
When I came back in the house a while later, the toilet paper roll looked like
this.
And, I believe that these are the culprits.
Not that I am particuarly surprised. Sophie found the toilet paper when she was a kitten. And so did Snowflake. Now it is Henry, Katerina and Dora's turn. (sigh)
Actually, as I think about it, I could take a lesson from the kittens: find fun in the most ordinary, mundane things. And don't worry about making a mess because the bigger the mess, the more fun you had making it.
LeAnn R. Ralph
