cold

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January cold

In Minnesota, January is a synonym for cold. Winter holds us in its icy grip now. The days are growing longer, but it is too early to notice much change in either length of day or temperature. The long, dark nights of winter continue. During the day, the sky may clear, but at best it manages an anemic blue. More often it is gray or white. Saying that it is white, does not necessarily mean that it is snowing or overcast-sometimes, the sky simply appears to be white, a January sky.

On some sunny days, when it is cold out but the sky is clear, one can see tiny, sparkling ice crystals floating gently in the air. They are beautiful, and it can be beautiful here in the winter, a compensation for the cold that wraps itself around one, or blows through one, or sneaks inside one’s coat or car or home. It is easy to imagine the cold as a creature in itself, large enough to cover states and countries, invisible and lurking outside, kept at bay thanks only to thick walls, warm clothing, and furnaces or radiators. Yet this creature can twist morning light into sun dogs or even create sparkling arcs of ice around the moon when it is full. It can tease glitter from snowy fields and ice-covered trees. It can transform an empty meadow or silent forest into a slow-lover’s paradise covered in pristine heaps of fresh-fallen powder.

It can kill. The road or sidewalk covered in black ice, the obstacle hidden beneath the snow, or the very cold itself—falling, hypothermia, frost bite, freezing to death. All are possible in January.

January is a synonym for cold, and this January promises to be one of the coldest in years. I look out the window and see the white mantle of snow and the shimmer of ice, the denuded branches of trees shivering in the cold, the cold exhaust of furnaces blowing and shredding in the wind. My shoulders hunch, and I clutch my cup of warm tea. At most any time, I’d rather be outside than in, but today I have huddled inside as much as possible.

The next two days promise to be colder yet, with the temperature not rising about the 0 degrees Fahrenheit threshold. The windchill will make it feel even colder, and the weather forecasters are reminding us that bare flesh can freeze in a matter of minutes in this weather. I am grateful for our home and furnace, the garage to protect the vehicles from the extremes of cold, the fact that school and work are closed on Monday. I give thanks for these.

I worry about those people who have to be out: those who provide essential public safety and life-saving services, the underpaid underclass who serve at restaurants and grocery stores and gas stations, the civil servants and the skilled workers who respond to electrical or heating or plumbing emergencies. I also worry about the homeless.

Many organizations exist to help those who are homeless, especially in this cold weather. They are on high alert, and they are working hard to bring people in from the cold, for a least a few hours or days of relief from the dangerous temperatures. Other charitable organizations, and public ones as well, are working to help people as best they can with emergency handouts of money for gas or food or help with heating and electrical systems. May God bless them for their efforts, for they truly are doing the work of Christ. Few people are homeless or hungry by choice. This weather adds only another wicked dimension to their daily struggle to survive.

I wonder, too, about the wildlife I love to see in warmer weather. There were fresh fox tracks in our yard this morning, although I haven’t seen a fox in weeks. I have seen tracks from rabbits and voles. I have seen a few crows, but not many other birds. I wonder how all of the wild creatures are keeping themselves warm and fed. I wonder how many will succumb to the cold.

Soon we will turn the corner on winter, although we can reasonably expect cold temperatures to linger into March at least. These bitter, frigid days will pass behind us, and spring will come. The green will return; life will stir anew. It is a short blast of arctic air, and I give thanks that it is brief. I try to seek warmth in those around me and hope I can give it to others.

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Baby, It’s Cold Outside

Well, here it is. Winter has arrived. It didn’t try to sneak in on us, as it sometimes has. A few years ago, I took a picture of one of my pansies still blooming on December 1. Not this year. Winter came barreling down from Canada like an express train. I read that the average high temperature in the Twin Cities for the coming week is +29 degrees (F). We haven’t seen 29 in several days now. Our high today was 1, as in 1 degree above 0 Fahrenheit, -17 degrees Celcius.

I was a little more cheerful about the idea of winter a few days ago. That was before I was smacked on the face with -15 degrees when I took the dog outside in the morning. She didn’t really appreciate it, either. Fortunately for both of us, it is now cold enough that she will do her business in the yard instead of wanting to walk to the park. Moreover, when she’s finished she wants to go inside right away. Most of the year, she loves being outside. Right now, I think she is wondering why we can’t come up with indoor plumbing for her.

This feels much more like January than December. I hope that does not mean that January is going to be really cold. Remember that -28 in 2009? That was only a year after we moved back to Minnesota after living in Arizona and Colorado for several years. That was a an unpleasant reminder of winters past. It was so cold that my then 4-year-old son, when having to get out of the car to walk in to preschool, started crying and saying he wanted to move back to Colorado. It was so cold that when my husband sent a friend a screen shot of a weather website showing the temperature, he said that it didn’t matter if it was degrees F or C, it was just FNC. It was so cold that school buses wouldn’t start.

We were pretty close to that this week, and it looks like it isn’t going to be much warmer for the next few days. I am starting to remember how to deal with it, though.

First: layers of clothing. It makes a difference, especially having on at least two pair of socks at all times. One should also always wear a hat. My husband wears a hat in his office in the basement. It is on the northwest side of the house. In the summer, it is pleasantly cool. In the winter, it is decidedly chilly. My son has been wearing two hats outside. My daughter resists this trend, because she doesn’t want “hat hair.” Oh, I remember the days. That was before attending the University of Minnesota. I will never forget walks across campus to an 8 am German class in -25 degree weather. I had a cute beret I wore through the cool days of fall, and I tried to continue to wear it in January. After one frigid morning, I traded it in for the wool hat my mother had knitted me. I learned that it’s ok to leave one’s winter hat on in college classes, and then one doesn’t have to worry about hat hair. Also, hat hair is a darn sight better than frost bite. I also learned not to schedule 8 am classes on the opposite side of campus in the winter.

Second thing to remember: slow down. We had a little snow early last week (thankfully, not nearly as much as the northeast corner of Minnesota), before the cold arrived. When that polar air arrived, the snow and melting snow turned to ice. It is extraordinarily slippery, something that a few drivers don’t seem to remember. Saturday night, a driver pulled out in front of our car while we were turning into a parking lot, onto glare ice. The other driver was lucky. He was driving a small, old coupe; we were in our SUV. Fortunately, my husband was driving slowly, but it was a near thing. I wonder if the other guy’s life passed before his eyes?

Third thing: ’tis the season for the crock pot. There are few things better than walking into the house and smelling a warm dinner after shoveling the driveway or coming home from work. I am planning this week’s meals with a heavy reliance on this appliance. It also is extremely energy efficient, so it’s a “greener” alternative to baking or roasting.

And another thing: heated mattress pad, flannel sheets, and a down comforter. A Minnesotan’s aphrodisiac. My husband gave me a heated mattress pad for Christmas a few years ago. When I unwrapped the box, I was not terribly enthusiastic. I thought about returning it, but he convinced me to try it. I knew there was a reason I married him. Now, I turn the mattress pad to preheat about an hour before we go to bed, and it warms up the bed beautifully. Best gift he ever gave me. No more crawling to bed wrapped in multiple layers. (I don’t think he found that very attractive.)

But now, all silliness aside, I have to admit that I live a comfortable life, despite the harshness of our winters here. Many people don’t have these luxuries of appliances or extra clothing or a home. At this time of year, many organizations try to help the homeless and those who are in need of food or clothing. If anyone out there is reading this, I encourage you to do what you can to help those who are in need. I can’t imagine trying to sleep outside in the weather we’ve been having lately. I pray for those who do endure this, and I offer what assistance I can. I hope you’ll do the same.