It’s COLD Outside! - December 23, 2024 @goldenoakfarm

I was up in the night Sunday night putting another blanket on the bed. It was mighty cold! When I got up at 6AM on Monday morning (because I didn’t want to get out in the cold) this is what the north side thermometer read.

I got the stoves roaring and the masonry heater was finally this warm in the morning. When I went into the pantry, it had dropped 9° in the night. It had been in the mid 50’s and I thought about opening the window, but I was glad I didn’t!

When I got the shades up, it was bitter cold looking out there. I had taken over 100 photos and it took forever to edit them. Between tending stoves and photos, I didn’t get anything else done before leaving for exercise class.

Icicles on woodshed

The second floor windows are 30+ years old and only have 2” x 4” construction, so there’s some mighty pretty frost on them some mornings. But I don’t recall having an entire sash covered in it before.

I found out at exercise class that the class is being moved to the attic of the Town Hall due to the entire floor of the cellar being replaced. As a result, the extensive library will be packed away. So I grabbed 4 books to read, to be returned when we return to the cellar in a month or so.

View from my chair

Leave it to the cat to have the best, warmest place in the house…

I got the masonry heater up to the 180’s F by mid afternoon and finally got the house up into the 70’s F. It had been in the 60’s F most of the day, much too cold for me!

When I went to turn on the window candles, I saw the Little Trees’ sugar maple out in the cold still hanging onto its bird nest.

On Tuesday, it’s to be not as cold, up in the 20’s. But there’s to be no sun and it’s to snow in the morning. My helper friend arrives at 9:30AM and he has errands to run. We also have to water the house plants, and make some of the food for Christmas day. So I will be sweeping walkways and steps again, and tending stoves all day.