When I first checked the temperature this morning, it was 8°F (-13°C). After a while it went to 7°. I turned to the TV weather to see what to expect for the day. The weathergirl said, “Enjoy today because it’s going to get cold!” Good to know. I’ll run right out and enjoy the warm.
A winter storm dropped 7 inches of snow onto my small central-Virginia city two nights ago. I shoveled my sidewalk clear, but I was the only person around here to do that. Apparently none of my neighbors know how to operate a show shovel. Insert shovel into snow, scooch it forward, lift and toss. Maybe the instructions should be printed on the handle. Homeowners are supposed to clear their walks within six hours of a snowfall ending. It’s a law that is never enforced.
Right now the day is sunny but we’ll get a short blast of snow this evening. “Up to a half inch,” is the prediction. And more snow/sleet is expected Saturday. It could be a lot worse. I could be in Boston, where they’ve had 59 inches of snow this month and 96 inches this season. Seven inches of snow on my sidewalk is not a problem. Ninety six inches of snow on my sidewalk – that’s a problem.
Another problem is approaching: daytime highs over the next 3 days will hover in the teens and nighttime lows will dip below zero, down to -4°F (-20°C). Like the song says, Baby, It’s Cold Outside. Will the water pipes in the crawlspace beneath my house survive?
The day did warm up. By 11 AM the outside temperature had risen to the freezing point – or perhaps in this case, the thawing point. I fired up the kerosene stove and placed it in front of my chair. Now when I park my butt in the chair, waves of comforting warmth are beamed toward me, and for a little while all is good.
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