Sunday, December 21, 2008

Wind And Rime

Lord've mercy! Is there any particular reason why the cold air has to enter the premises like a run away freight train with ten thousand cars? I am talking gale force winds and temperatures plummeting into the teens. The wind chill will be a cool -1 degree.

A thousand feet higher up on Sandy Mush Bald, a white mountain that was created in the night, is alternately turned on and off by the passing clouds.



The view of Sandy Mush is to the SE. Here is the white mountain in the off position without the zoom.



The western view looks innocuous enough. Plenty rain was followed only by traces of snow. Any rime on these hills would be on the opposite NW facing side.



Stepping outside reveals the truth of the matter. It's brutal out there. It is almost time to flee.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, a cold couple of days with winds like knives are predicted. Then a warm up on christmas day. If you are able to flee, do it!
Frances

Lisa at Greenbow said...

I know just what you are feeling. We just came in from doing a Christmas Bird Count in the coldest conditions I can remember. A cool -11 wind chill. The wind was indeed brutal today.

I hope you have friends in Hawaii you can visit. Or maybe the main gardeners where ever they are now. Some place warmer.

EAL said...

It got real mean real fast in terms of winter this year. My solution is simply to stay inside.

Anonymous said...

Oh my, that does look really cold. Maybe it will pass & warm a bit. Do stay warm.

chuck b. said...

I can only think all this cold is good for the plants because it will kill bad, overwintering beetles in the trees and potential pathogens in the soil.

Are you going to Florida for Christmas? I am.

Christopher C. NC said...

Well I can now say 10 degrees with full sun and no wind is quite tolerable. Once I threw a light and blanket around the well head, I had water in most of the house again. The kichen sink lines are a bit pesky about freezing.

Chuck I think our beetles and pathogens are adapted to this. Maybe the lack of snow cover might thin them a bit though.

I flee to Florida in the morning. Where in Fl. will you be Chuck? I'll be along the NE part, Jacksonville to Daytona.

Anonymous said...

Hi Christopher! You flee to Florida and I flee to Clyde. :)
...only to find our heat out and the temperatures dropped to 6 last night. It is beautiful out now that the winds have died.

Christopher C. NC said...

Lucky for you Siria it is going to start warming up tomorrow. I am currently being tormented by a frozen drain in the shower. I'd like to take a bath before I head out.

No heater? How are your water lines?

lisa said...

Wow, your temps are nearly as low as ours! (6 degrees, -21 wind chill). Enjoy Florida! (BTW, I usually put a "milkhouse heater" under my crawlspace to keep my pipes from freezing...it doesn't always work 100%. I want to put foam insulation around them for next year.)

Anonymous said...

Only one pipe froze, but it didn't burst thank goodness! We can't figure out why we have a fuse that keeps going out, but it's fixed now though. We insulated the well head this year since it froze on us last year. Have a safe trip and a wonderful Christmas!

Chrissy said...

It's been cold and snowy here, with more expected tonight. Love the pics. Merry Christmas.