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Cold Night!
The temperature at our house got to -15 degrees last night, or at least that was what it was when Fred checked at 5:30 a.m. He didn't need to go outside to clear the driveway, though. NO SNOW fell last night. There was a wind, and there are mini-drifts along the edge of the snowbanks around our driveway, but nothing serious. Today is bright with plenty of sunshine, and outside my office window the thermometer reads a cool 8 below. No sun is hitting there, but I don't see any melting going on even where it does hit.
I haven't actually heard any reports from skiers, but it must be brutally cold out on the slopes. One run, and back to the lodge, would be my guess. We're going to warm up rapidly in about 24 hours, though, so if folks can wait until the weekend, skiing should be comfortable and enjoyable again. It's ironic to have such nice snow and such cold weather - from a skiing point of view. But for a lot of us it doesn't matter all that much. It seemed really good to haul out my "horse-blanket" wool coat on New Year's Day. I so seldom wear it, my friends all thought I had a new coat. I think I've had it for at least 15 years - it's long and roomy, perfect for walking along W. Shore Road on cold winter nights.
It reminds me of a story my dad used to tell about the bear-skin coat his father and mother had. He said it was long and heavy and for that reason, nobody wore it unless they were going to be sitting in a sleigh or pung sled driving a team of horses. The story went that Dad had to take one of his sisters to catch the train in West Danville. She'd been home for the holidays, and as luck would have it, a big snowstorm came the day she had to leave. The roads weren't plowed as well as they are today, but they set off in Dad's car, probably a Ford. He said his mother insisted he take the bear-skin coat with him in case he had to walk home. He resisted, but finally gave up and put it in the car. He got his sister to the train, but it was late and quite a bit of time passed before he was able to leave for the trip home. The roads were badly drifted, but he would shovel out in front of the car when he came to a drift. This worked until he got within about a mile of home. The wind was howling and the snow drifting faster than he could shovel it out, so he decided to leave the car and walk home. He put on the heavy old coat and started out.
"I'd climb up over a drift and just roll down the other side," he said. "That coat was so heavy and long, after I'd gone a ways, it was easier to roll or slide down the drifts than it was to try to walk in it. But I never got cold! Actually, I was damned glad Mother made me take it with me."
So that's about the way I feel when I wear my coat, and I always remember Dad's story.
I haven't actually heard any reports from skiers, but it must be brutally cold out on the slopes. One run, and back to the lodge, would be my guess. We're going to warm up rapidly in about 24 hours, though, so if folks can wait until the weekend, skiing should be comfortable and enjoyable again. It's ironic to have such nice snow and such cold weather - from a skiing point of view. But for a lot of us it doesn't matter all that much. It seemed really good to haul out my "horse-blanket" wool coat on New Year's Day. I so seldom wear it, my friends all thought I had a new coat. I think I've had it for at least 15 years - it's long and roomy, perfect for walking along W. Shore Road on cold winter nights.
It reminds me of a story my dad used to tell about the bear-skin coat his father and mother had. He said it was long and heavy and for that reason, nobody wore it unless they were going to be sitting in a sleigh or pung sled driving a team of horses. The story went that Dad had to take one of his sisters to catch the train in West Danville. She'd been home for the holidays, and as luck would have it, a big snowstorm came the day she had to leave. The roads weren't plowed as well as they are today, but they set off in Dad's car, probably a Ford. He said his mother insisted he take the bear-skin coat with him in case he had to walk home. He resisted, but finally gave up and put it in the car. He got his sister to the train, but it was late and quite a bit of time passed before he was able to leave for the trip home. The roads were badly drifted, but he would shovel out in front of the car when he came to a drift. This worked until he got within about a mile of home. The wind was howling and the snow drifting faster than he could shovel it out, so he decided to leave the car and walk home. He put on the heavy old coat and started out.
"I'd climb up over a drift and just roll down the other side," he said. "That coat was so heavy and long, after I'd gone a ways, it was easier to roll or slide down the drifts than it was to try to walk in it. But I never got cold! Actually, I was damned glad Mother made me take it with me."
So that's about the way I feel when I wear my coat, and I always remember Dad's story.
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