WOLF BLOOD MOON

There is nothing more annoying than a frequent blogger who has nothing to say.

I'm not talking about myself, of course.

I was really surprised to discover that there was a total lunar eclipse last night. I've been so immersed in my own little world of problems lately that I wasn't particularly concerned about lunar occurrences. 

I happened to find out about the eclipse on YouTube, which had numerous channels providing live-stream eclipse coverage.

Red Moon Eclipse. Blood Moon Eclipse.
Wolf's Blood Eclipse.
The titles for the event were very intriguing.

Since it's nearly always cloudy, rainy, or foggy here in the wild forests of Tennessee, I knew that my chances of seeing the eclipse were probably Zero.

But......
despite the fact that it was only 10 degrees (Fahrenheit), I stepped outside.

Incredibly, the night was clear and the moon was directly overhead! And it was already halfway obscured in shadow from the eclipse. 

The moon was yellow - not red - and there was a faint ring around it.
It was far too cold to stay outside and gawk, but I did manage to go out several times during the duration of the night to glimpse the progress of the eclipse.

I had to stay up until dawn to keep a close eye on the water pipes and make sure they didn't freeze.
I kept all the faucets on - - running at a fairly steady stream. If you just let them drip there's a good chance that they'll still freeze.

By dawn the temperature dropped to 8 degrees, but I was so tired that I (reluctantly) crawled into bed.

I got up again at around 9:00 a.m. and was horrified to discover that the hot water pipe in one of my bathrooms was frozen.
Ironically, it was the only faucet that I didn't keep running.

One little-known fact:
for some scientific reason that I can't explain, hot water pipes usually freeze more quickly than the cold water ones.

Anyway -
After my panic attack subsided, I got a hair dryer and worked on the pipe. I finally got it thawed, then I wrapped the inside pipes with an old blanket.

This frigid weather is expected to continue for (at least) the rest of this week - and next week - so I'll have a lot of sleepless nights....
.....not to mention astronomical heating and water bills.

Last winter my water bill doubled because I had to keep the faucets running so often.

I've heard rumors that spring is somewhere in the distant future.

SILENT NIGHT

Incredibly silent. Deceptively peaceful. A soft wind blowing through the haphazard clutter of shivering treetops. It's nearly 2:00 a.m. on a cold, sightless night. I just stepped out on the back porch. Everything is pitch black. The moon is rising - a faint translucent glimmer nestled in the forest. By dawn it will be high above the trees.

Last night was bitterly cold. The temperature dropped to 12 degrees Fahrenheit and I stayed up until way after dawn to make sure the water pipes didn't freeze (they froze and burst the first winter that I lived here, so I've been nervous about it ever since).

Tonight - thankfully - it isn't nearly as frigid, but it's still cold enough to chill my bones in this damp and drafty house. I have a pot of homemade potato soup on the stove and plan to eat some shortly.

Until then, I'll share some photos that were taken very recently. 

 Yesterday morning I stepped outside  at dawn and took these photos.

 The moon way up above the trees.

 Forest in the back yard

Scruffy on the back porch about three days ago. After being sick for awhile, she has finally gained weight and her fur looks much better. She's a sweetheart.

 I very seldom take photos of myself. I took this last Friday (the 8th) after I got home from my excursion to town. My El Cheapo camera only has a ten-second timer. I have to set the timer, then run like hell and try to assume a pleasing position before the camera snaps. It ain't easy.

I wiped the frost off my bedroom window yesterday morning and took this pic of the nearby mountain illuminated by the rising sun.

 I was on the floor in the sunshine the other day, studying some music scores, when Scratch (Kitzee) came to join me. She soon fell asleep.