Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Minus Four to Plus Four

Frozen puddle at Morse Mountain by Sarah Laurence © 2013

Brrr! It's cold even by Maine standards. Check out the thermometer at sunrise. When we awoke it was minus four; that's Fahrenheit not Celsius.  Scout stuck only her head out the dog flap and then went back to bed. My intrepid husband walked her once it had warmed to zero.

Our kids bundled up in down coats, still grumbling about yesterday's aborted snow day. Arctic winds had blown the blizzard out to sea, just missing the coast. Schools were full of dozing students with incomplete homework. A teacher chided them, "Poor you, you didn't get a snow day because there is NO SNOW!" That woke a few.

We need a snow day desperately. Mother Nature gave us nearly two feet of white powder over December break, but all that is left is crusty tracks and slick ice. The midday skies are the intense, unfiltered blue of single digit weather. It is, at least, good writing weather. Tonight I shall read The Snow Child by the fire. Keep warm and do a snow dance!



P.S. thank you so much for your kind comments on my 6 Year Blog Anniversary post!

22 comments:

prince snow farm said...

You are making our 9 seem like a heatwave! Stay cozy!

Jane and Lance Hattatt said...

Hello Sarah:
These are indeed cold conditions and yet another indication, or so we feel, of the very strange weather patterns which seem to persist these days. Here our days are not above freezing but the temperature, to date, has not dropped as low as with you.

tina said...

Brrrrr! That's why I live in the south now:)

Sarah Laurence said...

ND, let’s think warm thoughts.

Jane and Lance, single digit weather is normal for Maine in winter, but you’re right that extreme weather, both cold and hot, can be caused by global warming.

Tina, I sort of guessed that was the reason you headed south!

Carol said...

Sarah, I feel your cold! It took me hours to unfreeze my pipes this morning! The wind was the kicker. Yes, I can recall winters where the temperature did not go above 0 F for weeks and even dipped down into the minus. I actually hope we have a real winter to keep invasive plants and other critters at bay. Your photos are great . . . ice and fire . . . cold and warmth. Wonderful puddle shot. I guess we are in for a bitter cold night. Keep warm. I am with Scout.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

That frozen puddle is stunning, but I want to curl up in front of the fire just thinking about how cold that is. Happy writing and reading by the hearth!

Cat said...

Oh my gosh, Sarah ... loving that you've captured the beauty of the event in your first photo. Amazing the extremes we live in, isn't it? 78f yesterday with a high of 80f today (81 will break the record if we reach it). Yesterday I spent an hour on the swing bed reading and marveling at the fact that there are no mosquitoes and I could sit in the sun without frying!

I'm curious what you think about The Snow Child.

Amanda Summer said...

the photographs of the frozen puddle with its intricate design and the cracking fireplace are both sublime in their own ways. the book sounds quite intriguing. it reminds me (a little) of a movie i watched last night called hanna, the story of a young girl raised in the snowy wilds by her ex-cia father.

growing up in minnesota, i clearly recall such frigid days. sending warm wishes your way.

Kelly H-Y said...

Brrrr ... that's chilly! Whenever there's a chance of snow, we read 'The Snowy Day' that night ... and it seems to 'magically' work nearly every time! The kids swear by it! :-)

A Cuban In London said...

That's minus 20. Thanks for the thermometer. Even -4C is very cold, but -20? Wow, that's... impressive.

Greetings from London.

Sarah Laurence said...

Carol, good point about cold temp controlling invasive plants and critters! It was slightly warmer today but felt colder due to the wind. Also it was my turn to walk Scout. Brrr!

Tricia, I thought you would like the abstraction.

Cat, I should visit Texas in winter; it sounds like our summer without the bugs! My Snow Child review will be coming soon.

Kelly, my children loved The Snowy Day too when they were younger.

Les said...

First of all, happy blogiversary, sorry I was late to the party. Now as to your weather, some of it has drifted further south than it should be. Please do not waste any time in taking it back to where it belongs. Thank You!

Lisa Blair said...

I'm looking forward to your review of The Snow Child. I selected it for my book club earlier this year, and it was a favorite.

troutbirder said...

I'll refrain from stressing how much colder than Maine we've been this week but we've also missed much of the snow to our north and south. This is important as our year long drought continues

Sarah Laurence said...

ACIL, I remember how confused I was by Centigrade while living in England, although it makes more sense to have zero be freezing.

Les, it looks like you’ve found our missing storm. Drive carefully!

Lisa, The Snow Child review will be up next week.

Troutbirder, yikes, I can’t imagine being colder temps! We finally warmed to double digits today. I will include Minnesota in my snow dance.

Sarah Laurence said...

Amanda, sorry, I didn't mean to skip you. Hanna looks like an interesting movie, with a similar theme. Thanks for the recommendation.

Gloria Baker said...

Maybe you think Im crazy but I love, really love winter and atumn is my favorite season:9
Now we are in sumer, of course the summer have nice things, the fruits (awesome peaches, apricots cherries) and I can swim because I love swim, and Im fortunate because we have a pool (the nice of the country side) but to this time I wanna arrive the autunn!
I love your chimena is just beautiful:)

☆sapphire said...

O It's almost -20℃! I feel embarrassed that I've been complaining about the cold here(+4℃).
The first photo is really nice. Love the lovely rhythm in it. I'm going to have a break. Take care, Sarah!

Sarah Laurence said...

Gloria, I love all the seasons too. Well, maybe not mud season. Autumn is especially gorgeous in Maine.

Sapphire, enjoy your break!

Hana Njau-Okolo said...

That frozen puddle is a story rich with possibilities - wow! I love how your COLD and HOT photos, with the thermometer in between captures it all totally!

Sarah Laurence said...

Mama Shujaa, I'm pleased you read the message in the images. I've downloaded African Roar to my Kindle. Looking forward to reading your published story.

cynthia newberry martin said...

It was 72 in Columbus, Georgia yesterday and I'm missing winter so I'm really enjoying all your winter photos!