I often begin my dispatches by writing about the weather. I suspect that, if we lived in a conventional house, one with oil or gas heat, and thermostats and radiant floor heating, and on the grid electricity, I would instead be deploring the fact that the coffeemaker, toaster, and electric hair dryer were all, at the same time, on the fritz. Instead, we live in a house where the cold air swirls around our feet, and we rely on the use of several blankets to keep us warm at night. I can, at times, even smell the cold air, when it’s windy, mostly at night because I sleep next to the window.

Animals also connect us to the goings on in the great outdoors. There are some, I’ll bet, who get home on Fridays, parkin their heated garages, and then head back out into their heated garages on Monday mornings. They are weather spectators. We are weather participants.

I have been less of a weather participant and more of a weather spectator this winter. This is in a large part because most of my energy, even on weekends, is going into this book project. I used to ride the horses in the winter, now less so because trails are snowed in and there are so many snowmachines on the road – nasty, fast ones that make a lot of noise. Some of the youngers delight in jumping over berms, into the road and into our path.

I don’t think very highly of those who spend their time on these machines. They are rude and inconsiderate. The migratory pathways of animals are also altered. For every action my friends, there is a reaction.

I sometimes feel like I’m moving in slow motion when it gets this cold (right now it’s -7˚ F). Now I’m beginning to feel immobilized, like I’m stuck in a strait jacket. (And why do they call them strait jackets?) I felt this way this evening when we got home, so Pete took care of the outside chores and I did the inside chores. I brought in the wood, started a fire in the woodstove, did the dishes, and fed the dogs, just so I could feel like I was doing something.

There was some discussion this afternoon, at the book cleaning table, about my current situation – working hard, with little help. I get this sense that some are being very guarded with their time and therefore are willing to only do so much. But then I get told to take time off, and not worry, say about books being cleaned and categorized. As I said, there is a lot of work to be done, and I need others to do more. Blaah, blaah, blaah. And blaah.

And what do you do when someone unexpectedly brings in five boxes of books past their shelf life and asks that they get the banker boxes back? I took care of it.

Pete and I worked companionably together early this evening, sorting and categorizing the sports and fitness books so they can be put in a box in the hockey arena area. If only, I thought, others were as generous with their time as he is.

Next: 1/31/24: Cold Wave Continues