The temp right now is 20F with
22-31mph winds and a 5 degree wind chill, and the cold front is just
starting. Tonight 5-deg. will be the
actual temperature, minus 15F wind chill with 40 mph winds for the next two
days. Other than taking warm water out
for the birds, which they flocked to in large numbers, I’ve been a bit slow to
run outside.
For the birds, Jean takes two heavy
plastic cat food dishes and stacks them together with paper towels in
between. It slows the freezing, so the
water remains accessible much longer for drinking before it starts to
freeze. With the inner dish thus
insulated, the cold can only access the water surface.
I’ve been enjoying the morning by
watching some nibimocs videos (Larry Ricker).
He has been asking for people to subscribe to his video channel, so I’m
passing it along in the hopes you will help him out. He does great videos of canoe/camping trips
in the Boundary Waters with soothing accompanying music. I had to chuckle a bit this morning as he was
sitting under his tarp complaining about how hot it was. Here is a link to his 14-day trip this
August. I think you will enjoy it, and
maybe subscribe to enjoy his future work.
I had an interesting day
yesterday. Jean had gone to the library
to get enough books to get her through the frigid spell. When she came back, she told me about
encountering a man there making a cross-country bike tour. Knowing there was no way he could survive the
next couple nights, I went to the library hoping to find him and explore the
possibility of putting him up in comfort and safety for a couple nights.
He said the police had found him in
the laundromat the night before. They
had called a couple local churches, which went together and put him up in a
motel for the night. I unfortunately
didn’t get much of a chance to talk with him.
I had just gotten through introductions with Patrick when his parents
pulled up. Hearing about the forecast,
he had called them in Mississippi, and they had driven up to get him back to a
warm home. Hoping to make the round trip
back to Mississippi in the one day, they were anxious to use the facilities at
the library and get back on the road. I
thought it a bit gutsy attempting a cross-country trip in this season, but the
two important things are that he was following his ambition, and once facing a
safety issue, had been able to get someplace safe and warm. As he needed no assistance as he broke his
kit down to put it in the pickup, I wished him well and continued on my walk.
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