C-c-c-cold as a ... North Country January

If we’re lucky, next week will be the coldest of the winter. Lucky not because next week’s temperatures will be relatively mild (single digit highs) but because maybe that will be as bad as it gets. That would be nice. Record lows for next week are in the -30s to -40s range, although not all occurred in the same year. We got a taste of that five years ago at the end of January.

January 31, 2019: -31℉

Photo by J. Harrington

This morning a wild turkey, feathers all puffed up against the cold, skulked through the back yard. It’s rare to see a single bird in the winter so I’m not sure what was going on. It’s the only turkey we’ve seen near the house so far this year. No deer seen yet either.

There are four, I think, what look like yellow tulip buds developing in the indoor bulb garden that came for Christmas. I’m looking forward to seeing living, not cut, flowers in bloom as a precursor to real spring. Equinox is 66 days away. In our North Country, spring will arrive 30 to 60 days later. By then I expect to have our tax organizer filled out and delivered to the preparer. This time of year is just one treat after another.

If a January thaw actually arrives a week from Monday, I’ll be delighted, even if it’s just for one day. Meanwhile, next week looks like prime time to get a bunch of old files sorted (sordid?) into keep and dispose piles. That and play with some fly fishing gear and read some more fly fishing stories.

Furry Bear

A. A. Milne

If I were a bear, 
   And a big bear too, 
I shouldn’t much care 
   If it froze or snew; 
I shouldn’t much mind 
   If it snowed or friz— 
I’d be all fur-lined 
   With a coat like his! 

For I’d have fur boots and a brown fur wrap, 
And brown fur knickers and a big fur cap. 
I’d have a fur muffle-ruff to cover my jaws, 
And brown fur mittens on my big brown paws. 
With a big brown furry-down up to my head, 
I’d sleep all the winter in a big fur bed. 

********************************************
Thanks for visiting. Come again when you can.
Please be kind to each other while you can.