Sunday, January 5, 2014

Well, Maybe the Weathermen Were Right . . .

I said last night I didn't think our temperature would get down to the forecasted -26°, but low (pun intended) and behold, it did . . . plus one degree.

We had -27° on the south-facing front of our house first thing this morning.  But, once again, the day has brought us full sunshine with rays bouncing off the solid snow cover everywhere you look.  Now at noontime, we have -7°.

All is well within this morning.  I have a blueberry pie burbling over baking in the oven as we speak.  There's ground beef defrosting on the counter for a meat loaf.  (Meat loaf, scalloped potatoes and Brussels sprouts . . . what better a winter time meal!)  Although I may save that for tomorrow's dinner while we finish the Black Bean Soup in the refrigerator today.


I made a little different concoction for brunch this morning.  I fried three strips of bacon in a skillet, removed and chopped them, sauteed some onion in the bacon fat, added some cooked green beans and two chopped hard-boiled eggs.  Heated it all together, added salt and pepper and a slice of toast on the plate . . . a real gor-met-ish meal.  At least for this homestead.

Hubby is on the Internet doing a search for gloves which might do a better job of keeping his fingers from getting tingly as they did when he was out for morning chores.  The warmest hand coverings we have are choppers which are leather mittens with wool liners.  But there are certain things you cannot do with them on (anything requiring finger dexterity) so we both need to find a glove that insulates separated fingers to the max.

The wild birds, especially the little Black-Capped Chickadees, are looking as if they're still hepped up on holiday cheer as they zoom from feeder to feeder.

I know it's creating some difficulties for those of you having this extremely cold weather in locations where you don't usually get it.  I really hope you and your animals aren't suffering unduly. 

Up here we're set up for this kind of weather.  Although we, personally, weren't always.  It's definitely been an evolution in "getting it right."  I could tell you stories of our first years up here that would make you question our sensibilities.  Those "adventures" made my mother want to snatch our then toddler from us and raise her under more desirable circumstances.  It all turned out fine, though, because our daughter grew up loving the area as we do and wouldn't live anywhere else.

Speaking of Chicken Mama, I hope she blogs of the night she had last night.  I think she practiced a little "winter camping."  Inside.

I'm off to check the wood stoves.  They seem to be consuming wood at a very rapid rate.

31 comments:

Akannie said...

Pretty cold here too, mostly wind chill factor cold of below zero because we're being blessed with 35-40 mph winds. Looks blizzard-y out there, been snowing since about 6 AM and has dumped almost 6 inches so far.

Huh. The weatherpeople do get it right sometimes. lol

Tami said...

Glad to hear that ya'll are right as rain...err...Sunny as snow showers...err...blissful as blizzards. Meh.

Glad to hear you're OK @;)

Mama Pea said...

Akannie - Oh my! Six inches in just about 6 hours. You're going to be doing some snow moving, for sure. But wait until those 35-40 mph winds subside, okay? Many of us are really having a bona fide winter this year, aren't we?

Mama Pea said...

Tami - Did you just call me a buzzard? Oh, wait. You said "blizzard!" ;o}

Sparkless said...

OMG -27F!!! That's arctic temps! I'm glad to hear you and Papa Pea have it all figured out though so you are prepared for these temps. The worst it gets here is around -14C (6.8F). And we don't get high winds so don't usually have to deal with a wind chill factor. Stay warm.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

I love the dish you created. We love green beans, bacon, and potatoes. We are getting a boat load of snow right now. I'm hoping to keep my water pipes flowing all night this time.

tpals said...

I'm arguing with myself right now to take the chickens some more liquid water. Brrrrr. And we aren't even as cold as you.

tpals said...

Update: Ouch! My fingers hurt just from that short time outside. Long enough to feed and water the chickens and gather eggs and get another load of firewood. Bad.

LindaCO said...

Glad to see you're hanging in there, but figured this was sort of the usual fare. Yummy lunch!

Carolyn said...

You Northern folks must get antifreeze pumped into your veins once Fall comes around. I am officially a big sissy now. We're supposed to be down to zero tonight and tomorrow and I'm all cranky about it.

2 Tramps said...

Sure do feel guilty with our much warmer and sunny weather. Just hearing about your weather has me wanting to chop more firewood! And that pie sounds simply heavenly!

Mama Pea said...

Sparkless - We're doing fine. I didn't go outside at all today, but have to do so tomorrow to do a few chores. The temp is dropping fast tonight and you can almost feel the cold creeping in around the edges. I'll put an extra quilt on the bed tonight!

Mama Pea said...

Kristina - If the snow you're getting stays, it will provide good insulation for the ground and water lines. That's if the ground isn't frozen too deeply already. (Maybe I shouldn't have brought that up. Sorry.)

Mama Pea said...

tpals - I know our chickens sure around moving around much in this frigid weather. Unfortunately, not laying very well either. Maybe we should start heating the nest boxes! Take care and stay warm.

Mama Pea said...

LindaCO - We had these heavy snowfalls and very cold temps when we first moved up here 40 years ago (yikes, how can it be that long?) but then the winters started getting much less severe. This one, however, has thrown us right back into good, ol' fashioned Minnesota winters! Time we toughened back up, I guess!

Mama Pea said...

Carolyn - Aw, put on your woolies and stop whining. ;o}

Seriously, when you're not supposed to get the low temps that you've been getting, I agree that it just doesn't seem right and you're allowed to be cranky. I think eating some chocolate would make you feel better.

Mama Pea said...

2 Tramps - Not to feel guilty. We choose to live here so we can expect to get some of this stuff. (Let's hope we DON'T have to work up more wood than we have ready before spring temps arrive!) The pie was/is good. Our blueberries this year have a wonderful "winey" flavor that can't be beat.

Tombstone Livestock said...

Check out ski outfitters for gloves, hope you find some soon. I saw on tonight's news prediction for Minneapolis is -57 for tomorrow and they said at that temp your anti freeze doesn't work. Also they said at those temps you can get frost bite in 5 minutes. Hope you can stay warm and stay dry and find some good gloves.

Donna said...

Loved hearing about the weather preparations, and photos of the deep snow. Keep snug.

Cat Eye Cottage said...

Our predicted low tonight is 17 with a high of 30 tomorrow. That's not normal. But I'll take it over -27 anyday! Your meatloaf meal sounds divine. I haven't made meatloaf in ages.

Mama Pea said...

Tombstone Livestock - Yep, it's skiers gloves that he's been using . . . but there are no doubt better ones out there. We've been lucky the last couple of days that we haven't had the wind and therefore the wind chill factor that was predicted. No wind today either but very damp which makes the cold get through to you sooner.

Mama Pea said...

Donna - If you're prepared and careful in this weather, it's okay. But not a lot of outside projects going on! ;o}

Mama Pea said...

The Weekend Homesteader - Believe it or not, hubby just told me that NEXT week it's supposed to get up to 30° (yes, above zero) here. Won't that be welcomed!

I haven't made meat loaf in a while either which isn't very nice of me since it's one of my husband's favorite meals. It would be wise of me to get better at that!

Susan said...

When you find those gloves that actually keep your fingers from freezing - PLEEZE pass the info along. I have yet to discover a way to keep from having to thaw my fingers every ten minutes. We awoke to...rain. Which is the precursor to an Arctic freeze. I am hoping I don't have to slide all the way home today.

Mama Pea said...

Susan - Even though your temp had to be "decent" in order for rain to fall, I have such a fear of ice on the roads that I'd be hesitant to trade with you. Hoping your drive home was without incident. Take care, friend.

Anonymous said...

So glad to see you are doing ok with the horrific cold you are getting.
As for Papa Pea's hands....Amy over at A Farmish Kind of Life posted not long ago about a tip she learned from and "old timer".....wear vinyl gloves (like medical gloves) inside your other gloves and your hands will stay warm.
Stay safe!!

Leigh said...

Sheesh, and I'm complaining about our cold. Balmy by your standards! Sounds like you're staying warm and well fed. That counts!

Mama Pea said...

Stephanie - Just as soon as I read this, our weather FINALLY broke . . . but we will definitely try it. We had a couple of degrees above freezing yesterday and today it hovered around 30°. You can't imagine how balmy this feels!

Mama Pea said...

Leigh - It all depends on what we're used to, doesn't it? When you count on being in, for instance, Zone 6, your plantings can't take it when you have unusually cold temps. Mother Nature sure does keep us guessing!

Linda said...

That is a beautiful quilt, I would be proud to have it.You do great quilting.

Mama Pea said...

Linda - Would you mind putting your comment under the snowman giveaway post? That way should you be picked in the drawing, other folks won't wonder where your entry was! Thanks. :o}