slouching toward normalcy

I last posted on December 7th about the shitload of rain we got in November. Since then we’ve had a super shitload of snow. In more empirical terms, that’s 1.5 metres (60 inches) and it’s still falling, but it’s supposed to yield to a solid stretch of rain tonight. The ground is still frozen after a cold snap that saw the farm hit – 15 C. (5 F.), the coldest we’ve recorded in the 17 winters we’ve been here.

Our systems are holding up fairly well, but we have a glitch in our micro-hydro pipes that can’t be traced because the pipes are under that aforementioned 1.5 metres. We’re still drawing power although the stream of water we have in the bathtub to keep it from freezing is a disturbing blend of spastic gurgling and eerie silence. We don’t have enough water pressure to activate our on-demand water heater, so we’re heating it on the cook stove and wood stove.

The heavy snow has road crews hustling to clear roads of ice and downed trees. Our community cannot get to groceries, gas or liquor. Isolating from covid is a breeze, a frigid breeze. Our dogs, both with direct wolf lineage, are loving it. Tooka, the wolfier one, loves doing snow angels, including an occasional face plant. Even though we can’t do our daily walk, they’re getting plenty of exercise chasing the ravens and raccoons.

Jude and I are watching mucho movies. Last night we caught Willem Dafoe as Vincent Van Gogh right after we saw Gary Busey as Buddy Holly. We finally caught up with The Hunger Games and fittingly will likely watch Eating Raoul next. We’re also catching a lot of sports. We eagerly anticipate the return of Klay Thompson to the Golden State Warriors tonight. And what better distraction from the weather could we have than the Winter Olympics in February?

How are you holding up?