Life at
-10

It's cold again this morning. The car groaned a very slow "don'-wanna-go, don'-wanna-go, don'-wanna-go" before firing, then made engine noises anticipatory of metal parts cracking and shattering. Leather seats will no doubt be stiff for the first couple of miles, but eventually the seat heaters will do their work, and by the time Husband reaches town, life in the car won't be too bad.

Barn work is easier in this weather: shit freezes and can be more easily scooped up with my horsie litter scoop. Winter barn chores are always dangerous, since a fall or injury outside means death by freezing before anyone would even miss me. Today will be more dangerous than usual - or maybe I should think of death having the potential to happen more quickly.

I consider the many Amish families living in the North Country. They lack the luxury of seat heaters, but their barns - unlike mine - will no doubt be warmed by the animals within. They are good-natured folk on a first-name basis with weather.

I will fill the woodstove often today. The colder it is outdoors, the hotter the stove burns. Colder air causes the chimney to draw, fanning the flames. Our house is oriented to the sun - which is just up - and soon it will be toasty inside these walls. Tonight's dinner will be made on this black appliance too, not because I have to use it, but because I like to.


.
The birds at the feeders (bluejays, chickadees, juncos, woodpeckers, goldfinches mostly) have frost on their backs and heads. I have never noticed this before. Could they be sweating?? They're certainly puffing out their feathers to keep warm.


.
It's a day for wool sox (probably for long underwear too, but I didn't put it on). My double wool mittens are my fingers' friends. I'll smile as I take the soapstone warmers off the stove shelf and place them inside my boots: a simple solution to a basic problem.

Do you sense how much I like this day? It is so quiet here. Can you appreciate the beauty of sun throwing long tree-shadows across the frozen pond? Tracks in the snow tell their stories; earlier daylight reminds me to savor this icy stillness because it will soon give way to mud season. Steaming coffee soothes rather than stimulates.

My life is blessed.

ADDENDUM (after going to the barn): HOLY HEAT EXCHANGER, BATMAN! It's fucking freezing out there! I'm gonna shoot a few bluejays and stuff their feathers in my underwear! Where's my travel agent's phone number? I wonder if furniture burns hotter than firewood... This coffee needs some whiskey in it! What kind of moron would choose to live in this climate?!?!