Ok, I'm making a weather prediction:  This week will mark the end of this awful deep cold weather.  March will bring us more normal temperatures.  I'm not saying we'll be out of the woods as far as snow storms are concerned, but I think the temperature will moderate. 

Today has been another bitterly cold day.  It didn't get above zero all day, and the wind blew mercilessly.    I didn't even bother to bundle up and walk today - just too darned cold.  Fred was out to clear the inch or so of new snow we got overnight - or that blew here from some other snowy place, and to get the mail, but mostly we've stayed inside and enjoyed the quiet of another frigid day.  Right now, at 5 o'clock, I have a reading of -15 degrees.

I had an e-mail from Karen Cobb in Virginia, saying her friend's husband's head injury after his tumble is going to be ok and he was to have his broken arm set today.  We hope they get some relief from the cold and snow there.

I had an e-mail also from Helen Morrison, our neighbor down the road who volunteers for the animal shelter in St. Johnsbury.  Here's what Helen wrote: 

Hi Folks,

Kingdom Animal Shelter is having a yard sale fund raiser this coming Saturday, Feb. 28, from 9-3 at Butler's Bus Service on Red Village Road in Lyndonville.  We would love to see you there.  

And....if you have any items you'd like to donate, that would be much appreciated.  I could come and pick them up this Thursday or Friday.  We can't use clothes, electronics, or exercise equipment, or anything really large and hard to move.  But other items would be great. Let me know. Thanks.  Helen

Helen's phone number is 563-2488.

I have been wondering how thick the ice is now, after all this cold.  I may be able to find out tomorrow when I go into West Danville.  I'm curious, but I'm not going out there to talk to anyone with the wind whipping down the pond the way it has been.  Perhaps someone at the store will know.  I'm not even sure the ice fishermen are out there on days like today.  We don't usually get the wind full force here at our house, but there's nothing between anyone out on the ice and that Arctic blast right out of Canada.  We've had a lot of cold weather without a break since I last had a measurement, and that was the first week in January when the ice was 14 inches.  I'm guessing it's at least 3 ft. thick now, but I'll try to get an "official" measurement soon.  One thing is for sure, we're going to have ice in the pond for a while yet.

By the way, we and Bill and Diane Rossi got take-out dinners from the North Danville Baptist church on Saturday, and everything was really good.  It was a roast pork dinner and had mashed potato, dressing, gravy, carrots, coleslaw, a roll and apple sauce - and for dessert, a really delicious cream puff.  So good, and we all had way more than we needed, but everyone ate every morsel.