First of all I am only speaking from my location here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana. I don't have it that bad at all. I have electric power, a fast internet, a warm house and the sun is out. There are many many many other people a lot worse off than the hounds and I. So a -5° at 8am is not a bad deal. I have lived through a lot worse in this house, today's weather is nothing.
You would have never thought it would be so cold yesterday when the hounds stepped outside after their late lunch but the wind was freezing cold, the wind chill temp was colder than it was when Stella and I took our walk, so the afternoon walk was canceled.
Even Heidi wasn't sure she was going to jump off the edge into the mulch, her favorite place to pee in the winter's cold weather.
Stella was more interested in getting back inside for more sleep ... like sleeping the afternoon away. She had no idea why she had followed Heidi outside on Tuesday afternoon.
After a Tuesday afternoon of doing nothing, we tried it again a little after 5pm. Would a walk be possible? Stella did some pre-aerobic stretching but I already knew with the howling wind and the freezing cold, that I wasn't going anywhere. I'd watch her as she moved to the backyard to relieve herself just to make sure she was heading back toward the house when finished instead of wandering out into the field.
It funny how she has to find that 'perfect spot' to pee but she does, even when it's freezing.
This morning was a different story thought. I woke up once around 5am and heard wind that was so loud I thought we were in the middle of a Spring thunderstorm or a tornado. I wondered how many tree limbs would be in my yard after last night. I even remembered the tv shows I watched last winter about the research teams living in tents in Antarctica. I glanced at my watch to see it was -2°, I went back to sleep.
No matter how cold it gets, the hounds still need to relieve themselves especially after a night of sleep. It was the normal routine with me letting them out at 7am in subzero temps but I was going to make an effort to pour their kibble a little faster today.
About the time I got to the door to let them back inside, Stella was sprinting from the backyard or field, around the Mini Cooper to the door. Heidi was not around !!!! So I stepped outside and looked to see her in the middle of the front yard just finishing her yard care and then sprinting up the driveway all the way to the door
By the time 8am rolled around, both hounds were back to sleep and the temp had dropped to -5°. Obviously both walks today will be canceled. Trips outside this afternoon will be limited to less than a minute or two and it will be a normal day inside the warm house.
At least the sun is not giving up on a day like today. There's no worries though ... it will be Spring like temperatures by Friday !!!
How's that for a little variety of winter weather ???
Even with the warm house yesterday, Heidi knew it was cold outside and demanded I go get 'her' sleeping bag from the bedroom to put on her while she slept on the couch. How did she demand that to happen? She sat there staring at me shivering as if she was cold. Once the sleeping bag was on the couch, she burrowed her way under it and around it for the perfect position to sleep.
Every winter when the weather stations go into over-drive with too much DRAMA about what is going to happen, I tune them out. I know they have to sell viewership but please give me a break. The world is not coming to an end. IT'S WINTER !!!!! It happens every year and has for as long as I can remember!!! Sorry, I'm not jumping on the 'panic wagon' based on the tone of voices from the local weather channels, or national ones either.
The past few winters I would 'chase' the temps by adjusting my thermostats, plus it was my way of saving energy. In this 45+ year old house each room has baseboard electric heat and its own thermostat. I'd turn it completely off when we slept and then back on for an hour or two to take the edge off.
This year I decided I wasn't doing that. In November when it was getting cold, I set every room thermostat to where the house stayed at 65°-68°. I'd let the heaters decide when they needed to cool down. The times the house is too hot I will turn the thermostats down or off for an hour or two. I can't stand a hot house.
My "electric usage' spreadsheet shows I have used less kilowatts than last winter but last winter was brutal with these sub-zero temps day after day and over 30 days in a row being below 32°. Still it is costing me less this year to keep the house warm instead of trying to save energy. (electricity)
With no plans to get out today, I will wait until tomorrow to start my car. I also will probably do nothing different from yesterday. It's interesting how schools are closed, college classes are cancelled, business are closed during the Polar Vortex .... but tonight the college basketball games on tv continue. No games will be canceled anywhere in the Midwest or the Eastern part of the states.
It was that way when I was growing up in the 60's. I remember more than a few times where school was closed for days from too much snow but people always found ways of filling the gym seats when a game was played on Friday and/or Saturday nights. Nothing has changed in that regard.
I'll try to get more photos later today as the hounds and I go outside. It is supposed to get up to 6° and that will be warm enough for short breaks outside. For them, not me. :)
It's sunny this morning in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.
