Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Numb, Dumb and Housebound on the Tundra


-21 F this morning, which sucks, but the thirty mph winds are the real killer. Looking out across the fields, the drifting snow appears as waves breaking upon a white and frigid ocean. I'll be stuck inside the hovel 'til at least tomorrow, when the temps are suppose to rise above zero. But, I'm actually digging it. Plenty of firewood, beans, rice and Triscuits. And, of course, and ample supply of Nyquil.

Even with the wood stove at full blast it's hard getting the house above fifty. The biggest problem however, is letting the dogs out to crap. Little Sputnik, (fully recovered) has zero body fat and the nearly-hairless hide of a whippet. Within thirty seconds her legs start to seize up, but so far has managed to squeeze out an instantly frozen poop-sicle before she shivers herself back inside and makes a beeline to the warmth of the wood stove.



Somewhere out there is the compound driveway, about a quarter mile long with five foot drifts in places. I'll have to attempt digging it out with an ice cold, unheated open-cockpit skid steer loader. No hurry though, it's hard telling when the county will clear the road. Where the fuck is Al Gore?


8 comments:

  1. Feel for you Hermit,we dodged the snow but not the cold here in east NE. It has always bewildered my simple mind as to why,after the first winter,my ancestors did not keep moving west to sunny socal. Must have been a good sale on land.
    Last I heard Al takes his global warm ass south of the 5th parallel. Keep the flaps down.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dang Dude! This is just more than I could stand, I'm complaining about it being down to 34* in good ol O-Town Fl.
    Yesterday I was doing yard work in shorts, no shoes, no shirt and pounding Cold Beer! It's supposed to be 85* Sunday, sounds like a Beach Day to me. I hope the Best for Ya!

    ReplyDelete
  3. We usually have a few nights per winter when it gets below zero, but this is stupid. Pipes froze last night, but now it's up to +7, yippee!

    Evidently BC, Paul's ancestors were smarter than yours and mine!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ferk me mate, been watching it all unfold on the news, not CNN or Fox, and it looks . . . well, it looks like your photos, totally tundra-esque and frigid beyond my wildest imaginings, glad you've got the Nyquil supplies covered, and here I am bitching and moaning about the heat, sheeeeet !!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. We're also enduring the cold and wind here in Wisconsin but we didn't get hammered with the snow. Hang in there. Hey man I really enjoy following this blog. Keep up the good work.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Looking like Scotland there. Meanwhile all the moisture seems to be missing this coast. Frozen soap bubbles and 'banana hammers' are the talk of the newz...

    ReplyDelete
  7. The heat can be a mother too Whitey, but I'd appreciate it if you'd send a little my way.

    Thanks Scott. Wisconsin is no stranger to bad winters, I'm sure. Supposed to be above freezing by the weekend here.

    I'll send you a sno-cone Larry, and think about Cali while I'm thawing my pipes today.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Just stay away from that yellow sno...

    ReplyDelete