Turns out it wasn't such a bad weekend - lots of sunshine, even if the temperatures weren't much above zero. Things are pretty much normal for January - lots of ice fishermen out on the pond, a few snowmobiles cruising around, cold and windy weather. There have been the usual reports of stalled cars, frozen water pipes and chimney fires that always occur when the weather gets severe.

Fred and I were in Burlington on Friday and I believe it was actually colder there than it was here. The wind was howling and we were relieved to get back to Joe's Pond. Yesterday we were outside piling wood and even that activity didn't keep us warm and we came in with toes and fingers aching with cold. The wood pile has been growing in size daily. It represents a heap of hard labor, and I really think we should be very conservative about using it; but once it's dry and in the woodshed next year we'll probably keep the fire going as usual. It's wonderful to sit in our cozy living room on a cold winter night and watch the flames in our little Hearthstone stove.