It has been interesting to read about BR folks reactions to the cold weather they are having. Especially so, since I used to react just like that when we lived there.
The high temps for the last five days or so has been below 20 but it has been pretty sunny most days. Today I've been out shoveling snow that is 20 inch high from our back deck. I try to do it between 9 and 11 when the sun is directly on the deck, even though the early morning chill is still present. Today when I started it was about 12 degrees. I started out in a sweater and a hoodie, and mittens. Shoveling snow may not make you buff, but it is vigorous exercise. I shed the mittens quickly and the hoodie about 15 minutes later. Then the wind came up and the sun was behind a cloud, so back into the mittens and hoodie, which soon made me get hot again, so out of the hoodie and mittens until the next cloud.. Could it be that BR cold is colder than Vermont cold, just like the heat there is hotter than in Arizona?
The snow was firm enough that I was tempted to try building an igloo. I learned about this in grade school but could not remember if Nanook stomped the snow to compress it, or just used it like it was. Still have 1/3 of deck to do... perhaps I'll attempt it when I clear the rest of it. This is the third time I've cleared the deck this season, and the snow piled around the deck is nearly as high as the rail of the deck itself. It is going to be terribly wet when it all starts to thaw in a couple of months. The snow now is just right for building things. I was going to build a snowman sitting on the bench in front of the house, except now I cannot find the bench.
I also saw what may be the first sign of spring today, small as it was. Two crows flew by, one chasing and diving at the other and making chirps rather than caws. I think they were mating. Probably a better indicator than the groundhog's shadow that spring is coming.
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