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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums14 below this morning
here in central Pa. The outdoor cats are in their heated cat houses. I won't have to feed them for a while seeing as they won't budge for quite a while. I put in a 30,000 BTU gas heater in the basement that I turned on just to heat things up. That gas heater comes in handy during a power outage, it operated just fine on pilot.
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Walleye
(43,023 posts)He has a way of getting into the basement of one of the other buildings nearby. He’s been coming up for meals in the evening. Getting kind of skittish, he comes in and turns right around and go back out. I have a heating pad and his little house but he hasn’t gotten in there in the last three nights. I do worry about him he’s 11 years old now. I had him trapped neutered and released as a kitten. He’s a real sweet kitty and I love them. But I also have a cat inside. He started out coming up on my deck. He wasn’t feral though. This cold weather is really getting me down on top of everything else
questionseverything
(11,398 posts) Nay
(12,051 posts)the Omicron wave, that's exactly where I would be now, enjoying the sun with my BFF. [sad face inserted here]
Ligyron
(7,981 posts)
ShazzieB
(21,901 posts)It's supposed to get all the way up to 28 this afternoon. A veritable heatwave after days of being in the teens.
Ah, January, such a delightful month. 
ProfessorGAC
(75,032 posts)1° at 6am.
But, 20° today. Another couple cold ones coming next week, too.
But, it's January so we certainly aren't surprised.
14 below is brutal though.
panader0
(25,816 posts)No gas heater, but I cut a truck full of oak day before yesterday. The woman of the house
likes it a lot warmer than I do. In the summer when it was 70, she'd have the cooler going.
In the winter when it's 70, she's freezing.
gab13by13
(30,327 posts)and the only place we tell that story is here at DU.
panader0
(25,816 posts)She said--"I don't care what the thermometer says, I know how I feel!"
She won.
spanone
(140,538 posts)Brrrrr
OldBaldy1701E
(9,374 posts)All my old neighbors are telling me it is cold. I tell them that since I moved up here to MN, I have now learned about cold. Like -34F cold. I wish I was back in Nashville right now, because that 11F stuff usually only lasts a few days. Up here, it lasts until freaking May!
Nac Mac Feegle
(982 posts)This comes to mind:
The Cremation of Sam McGee
By Robert W. Service
There are strange things done in the midnight sun
By the men who moil for gold;
The Arctic trails have their secret tales
That would make your blood run cold;
The Northern Lights have seen queer sights,
But the queerest they ever did see
Was that night on the marge of Lake Lebarge
I cremated Sam McGee.
Now Sam McGee was from Tennessee, where the cotton blooms and blows.
Why he left his home in the South to roam 'round the Pole, God only knows.
He was always cold, but the land of gold seemed to hold him like a spell;
Though he'd often say in his homely way that "he'd sooner live in hell."
On a Christmas Day we were mushing our way over the Dawson trail.
Talk of your cold! through the parka's fold it stabbed like a driven nail.
If our eyes we'd close, then the lashes froze till sometimes we couldn't see;
It wasn't much fun, but the only one to whimper was Sam McGee.
And that very night, as we lay packed tight in our robes beneath the snow,
And the dogs were fed, and the stars o'erhead were dancing heel and toe,
He turned to me, and "Cap," says he, "I'll cash in this trip, I guess;
And if I do, I'm asking that you won't refuse my last request."
Well, he seemed so low that I couldn't say no; then he says with a sort of moan:
"It's the cursèd cold, and it's got right hold till I'm chilled clean through to the bone.
Yet 'tain't being dead—it's my awful dread of the icy grave that pains;
So I want you to swear that, foul or fair, you'll cremate my last remains."
A pal's last need is a thing to heed, so I swore I would not fail;
And we started on at the streak of dawn; but God! he looked ghastly pale.
He crouched on the sleigh, and he raved all day of his home in Tennessee;
And before nightfall a corpse was all that was left of Sam McGee.
There wasn't a breath in that land of death, and I hurried, horror-driven,
With a corpse half hid that I couldn't get rid, because of a promise given;
It was lashed to the sleigh, and it seemed to say: "You may tax your brawn and brains,
But you promised true, and it's up to you to cremate those last remains."
Now a promise made is a debt unpaid, and the trail has its own stern code.
In the days to come, though my lips were dumb, in my heart how I cursed that load.
In the long, long night, by the lone firelight, while the huskies, round in a ring,
Howled out their woes to the homeless snows— O God! how I loathed the thing.
And every day that quiet clay seemed to heavy and heavier grow;
And on I went, though the dogs were spent and the grub was getting low;
The trail was bad, and I felt half mad, but I swore I would not give in;
And I'd often sing to the hateful thing, and it hearkened with a grin.
Till I came to the marge of Lake Lebarge, and a derelict there lay;
It was jammed in the ice, but I saw in a trice it was called the "Alice May."
And I looked at it, and I thought a bit, and I looked at my frozen chum;
Then "Here," said I, with a sudden cry, "is my cre-ma-tor-eum."
Some planks I tore from the cabin floor, and I lit the boiler fire;
Some coal I found that was lying around, and I heaped the fuel higher;
The flames just soared, and the furnace roared—such a blaze you seldom see;
And I burrowed a hole in the glowing coal, and I stuffed in Sam McGee.
Then I made a hike, for I didn't like to hear him sizzle so;
And the heavens scowled, and the huskies howled, and the wind began to blow.
It was icy cold, but the hot sweat rolled down my cheeks, and I don't know why;
And the greasy smoke in an inky cloak went streaking down the sky.
I do not know how long in the snow I wrestled with grisly fear;
But the stars came out and they danced about ere again I ventured near;
I was sick with dread, but I bravely said: "I'll just take a peep inside.
I guess he's cooked, and it's time I looked"; ... then the door I opened wide.
And there sat Sam, looking cool and calm, in the heart of the furnace roar;
And he wore a smile you could see a mile, and he said: "Please close that door.
It's fine in here, but I greatly fear you'll let in the cold and storm—
Since I left Plumtree, down in Tennessee, it's the first time I've been warm."
There are strange things done in the midnight sun
By the men who moil for gold;
The Arctic trails have their secret tales
That would make your blood run cold;
The Northern Lights have seen queer sights,
But the queerest they ever did see
Was that night on the marge of Lake Lebarge
I cremated Sam McGee.
OldBaldy1701E
(9,374 posts)Gods only know indeed. I still wonder what the hell I was thinking...
HUAJIAO
(2,730 posts)brrrrr, My 9 year old nephew has hockey at 9 am...inside..
luvtheGWN
(1,343 posts)along with about 16 inches of snow on the ground since Tuesday.
But fear not, the Farmer's Almanac predicts above normal temps for February here in southern Ontario and upper NYS. Fingers crossed!
HUAJIAO
(2,730 posts)and no more snow...
Mazeltov Cocktail
(569 posts)luvtheGWN
(1,343 posts)Lake effect snow. I remember a few years back when Buffalo got over 5 feet of snow, in November.
Well, as we all know, it does go away!
HUAJIAO
(2,730 posts)On this past monday I couldn't get out my front door and the opener on my garage door is broken
HUAJIAO
(2,730 posts)
PJMcK
(24,342 posts)One look at the ice outside and I know I don't want to go out for now!
Stay safe.
USALiberal
(10,877 posts)PJMcK
(24,342 posts)Our mountain house is in the Lower Catskills in Wayne County, PA on the Upper Delaware River near a hamlet called Callicoon, NY. It's a bright, sunny morning with crystal clear skies but you can see the cold!
I have a few errands to run today, (post office, garbage dump, etc.), but I think I'll wait until later!
USALiberal
(10,877 posts)doc03
(38,577 posts)lonely bird
(2,601 posts)It was -5 this morning.
Did I mention I freaking hate winter.
kentuck
(114,863 posts)Sunny and about 40 today is last forecast I heard.
niyad
(128,175 posts)paleotn
(21,098 posts)That stretch between roughly mid Jan and mid Feb when we get most of our coldest weather. And usually a ton of snow, but not this year. We've got barely 6 inches on the ground right now. If this keeps up, we might see the grass again by late March instead of the usual April.
Bettie
(19,011 posts)today, we're set up for a nice, warm 25 degrees!
I can leave my coat in the car.
Tribetime
(6,922 posts)
Siwsan
(27,763 posts)The 10 day forecast isn't showing any warm up. We have had an unusually small amount of snow, so far.
jaxexpat
(7,794 posts)Our min-pin returned post-haste from her morning sojourn with that "why did you mess up my world?" look they're famous for. You'd know the look anywhere, endearing but a pure accusatory guilt-trip. Dogs can be so harsh. Oh, the caninity.
socialist cyclist
(18 posts)We rescued a little brindle terrier mix from Tennessee this summer. This is her first Vermont winter. She has a coat but refuses booties. On her walk this morning she did her business then stopped and refused to walk any further. I ended up carrying her home wrapped in my down coat. It’s going to take a while for her to acclimate, although she absolutely loves to eat snow!
erronis
(21,801 posts)Mazeltov Cocktail
(569 posts)Laugh all you want about the crazies who live here, the assholes who we elect as governors, the pedophiles we send to congress...it is 68 I'm working in my garden today
...and my cats are stretched out in the sun...
katmondoo
(6,521 posts)Jon King
(1,910 posts)Did my time up north, never again. Rather have 95 and humid than ever be cold again.
pandr32
(13,594 posts)...but at least it is a blue state.
We hated winters on the mainland and made the change to moving out into the middle of the Pacific. Even though it rains often the sun comes out and it is early morning here--just after 5:00am and it's 62 expected to get up into the 80s when it gets light.
CaptainTruth
(7,971 posts)I agree, our state government is full of idiots & I have a couple MAGAts in my neighborhood flying Trump 2024 flags but I have ways of playing with them. Not saying anything more than that.
DLCWIdem
(1,580 posts)Real feel places us at -13. Who knows what it is with the windchill. Its actually a bit of improvement from Wed, Thurs, and Friday.
USALiberal
(10,877 posts)
James48
(5,026 posts)Carbon monoxide source. Don’t ever have open flame inside the house if it is not plummet to the chimney!
FailureToCommunicate
(14,574 posts)2naSalit
(98,467 posts)Extended autumn here in western MT. There is a little snow, nothing compared to what it should be. Currently we have enough snow in the mountains to maybe raise the river a few inches for a day or two.
This year it seems any wintry weather arrives as the SW fringe of an arctic air mass as it drops into the US, sometimes it does the same only a little further west bringing it over us but only few a few days at most.
johnthewoodworker
(694 posts)
wnylib
(25,355 posts)but up to 0 F currently. Forecast to reach the 20s later today. Same general forecast for the next few days.
Upthevibe
(9,853 posts)Yikes......It sounds like you're doing what you can.....
gab13by13
(30,327 posts)and hey it's up to +4 already. I'm watching football today and college wrestling tomorrow, I do have to out for church.
CCExile
(524 posts)35/45 degrees, .01 inches of cold, cold rain! How do y'all stand it? Every time I think of getting out of Texas for a more liberal state, the prospect of extended periods of cold stop me (and cost of living differences). The only good alternative I can think or is Portugal, but the language is nuts, and I already know Spanish.
KS Toronado
(21,787 posts)Help turn Texas Blue, believe it's headed that direction because of your Gov.
JohnnyRingo
(20,257 posts)It's all about the "feels like" temperature.
Still. it's cold enough that yesterday I saw a kid walking into Starbucks with his pants pulled up all the way
CaptainTruth
(7,971 posts)I'm forced to wear long pants & a jacket.
And no, I don't expect any sympathy...
niyad
(128,175 posts)
PatrickforB
(15,279 posts)When it gets that cold, nothing works and everything is harder. I'm glad you have the gas heater. And glad for your cats, too.
FailureToCommunicate
(14,574 posts)around it.
I assume birds can usually nibble on snow for water in winter, but there hasn't been any here for days.
I can see them out there now **trying** to write me thank you notes.
gab13by13
(30,327 posts)Gore1FL
(22,682 posts)I put on about fifteen layers when my dog and I go outside (which is a lot because he's dealing with a urinary tract infection at the moment).
We were in the single digits earlier this week; that was bad enough. I don't know if I could handle the negatives!
iamateacher
(1,113 posts)Sunny and a balmy nineteen degrees now. The cats are inside and mad about it.
kskiska
(27,162 posts)getting down to 27° tonight.
senseandsensibility
(24,021 posts)Since I have never experienced that kind of weather (it will be upper sixties today and sunny, and I am so used to it that it takes something like this thread to make me appreciate it), I wonder how warm you are able to heat your house when temps are below zero. And how much does it cost? I honestly can't imagine.
The Revolution
(867 posts)When the temps are below zero, there may be a little bit of a chill in the house, but it's mostly fine. I think our most recent gas+electric bill was $350 or so. The next may be worse. Older houses will be more, depending on the type of heat and how well insulated they are. One friend of mine lives in a house from the 1890s with radiant heat and he has said heating bills are typically $600 in the winter. Probably a little higher now.
senseandsensibility
(24,021 posts)Our heating bills are a fraction of that for obvious reasons, but in the summer our AC bills are sky high. I feel bad for people who can't afford such high heating bills.
The Revolution
(867 posts)It warmed up a little today. Supposed to be cold a couple days next week as well, but should move away from the really cold temps as we move out of January.
Demovictory9
(37,113 posts)Texaswitchy
(2,962 posts)The temps go up and down.
It will get 70 something and then another cold front.
canetoad
(19,761 posts)I had a swim as I walked the dogs. Flies were bad though.