Friday, February 02, 2007, 19:41
Wrong Again
I distinctly remember the weather forecaster saying this morning that the high today would be 17 degrees Fahrenheit.
At 1:30 p.m. the high is 4 degrees below zero. With a stiff wind out of the west/northwest that makes it feel more like 15 or 20 degrees below zero.
All week the forecasters have been saying it would be bitterly cold Saturday, Sunday, Monday and on into next week.
They didn't say the bitter cold would be here already on Friday.
The sun is shining today, but sunshine doesn't help much in the teeth of a strong west/northwest wind.
When I went out to feed the horses this morning, I was so bundled up I could hardly move. Instead of it taking me 10 minutes to walk around the hayfield with Pixie and Charlie, it was more like 20 simply because I was so bundled up I couldn't move very fast.
It took me longer to clean up the horse manure than normal, too. For one thing, I couldn't see what I was doing very well. I put clip-on sunglasses onto my regular glasses to cut some of the glare from the sun on the snow. My glasses kept getting pushed down my nose by the stocking cap I had on that was covered with the hood from my sweatshirt.
The horse manure is so frozen now that I am only able to get up a small part of it, anyway. Chipping at it with the spade doesn't help much, so I will have to be content with what I can get. All I can say is, if it ever thaws out -- and it will this spring at some point -- I've got a BIG job ahead of me.
Isabelle is camped out on the east side of her shelter today to get out of the wind. I don't blame her. Kajun is standing in the door of the barn where he is in the sunshine but out of the wind.
The barn kitties did not even come out of their cubbyhole in the hay this morning to get some kitty food. So I put kitty food up by their cubbyhole and some warm water for them to drink. It was 16 degrees below zero first thing this morning, and stay warmer if they huddle up together in their cubbyhole instead of coming out for food.
I've been in the house for quite a while now, but my feet are still cold!
LeAnn R. Ralph
Friday, February 02, 2007, 08:35
A Sore Spot
Do you know how many things you use your index finger for?
I'll tell you how many.
Everything.
I never would have thought an index finger could be involved in so much of my daily life. Not until the end of my right index finger split the first layer of skin because of the cold, dry, winter air. Sometimes in the winter I walk around with bandages on three or four fingers at once. Doesn't seem to matter how much hand lotion I use, either.
Anyway, a few days ago my right index finger split open on the outside next to the nail.
And it was then that I discovered I use my index finger for everything: putting toothpaste on the brush, flossing my teeth, combing my hair, putting earrings in my ears, zipping up my coat, putting on my boots, putting on my gloves, getting a fork out of the silverware drawer, picking up a pen, reaching into the refrigerator for the gallon of milk, petting Snowflake, brushing the horses, brushing the kitties, putting the leash on Pixie, answering the telephone phone, turning off my alarm in the morning, turning on the computer printer, opening a door, holding a book open so I can read it, taking notes for newspaper stories, cleaning up horse manure…
I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture.
On the other hand, it could be much worse. I could have a split on both my index finger *and* my thumb both at the same time. And then where I would be?
Still feeling sorry for myself, that's where.
Besides, it's February. And that means January is over. I always feel better once we get past the month of January.
Sad News -- I am going to be paranoid about the answering the telephone in the evening for a while after this. Thursday evening the phone rang, and it was my sister-in-law to tell me that a dear friend of my brother's and sister's had died suddenly. She had grown up on a farm not far away from where I live, and the first birthday party (and maybe the only one?) my brother and sister had gone to as children was at their farm. I had seen her not long ago at their family reunion.
About 10 minutes later the phone rang again, and it was a lady from our church to say that one of our long-time church members had died Thursday morning. He had been in intensive care for a while before our Meatball Dinner last Sunday, but as of last Sunday was out of intensive care and doing much better. His daughter and other family members were so relieved he was doing better, and they were happy that the hospital was searching for a nursing home bed for him so he could get some rehab before going home.
LeAnn R. Ralph