FROZEN TUNDRA

I'm not in the mood to be poetic, artistic, or philosophically thoughtful. I'm freezing my ass off and fervently praying that there won't be a power outage.

The power lines are covered with ice and looming dangerously low. Everything outside is heavily blanketed with snow. It is unnervingly quiet - no critters, no birds, no sign of discernible life, except for thick white puffs of my frosty breath and the rude crunch of ice under my work boots.

Old Man Winter has pulverized rural Tennessee.

Inside the flimsy walls of my house, it's (miraculously) warm enough. My furnace still isn't working properly , but several space heaters are doing the job.
My two cats are sleeping on my bed next to a heater. I have the kitchen blocked off from the rest of the horrendously frigid house and it's quite cozy........as long as the power stays on.....
It's late afternoon and about 20 degrees (Fahrenheit).

This winter storm was supposed to have arrived on Saturday but was late.
Icy rain on Saturday night.
Sunday morning the ice vanished and there was torrential rain. I seriously doubted if snow would ever come.

Then, before noon, the temperature dropped drastically and heavy globs of wet snow began to fall. It snowed heavily all afternoon and into the night.

That's all I need to tell.
Hence forth, photos will prevail.

Sunday morning was bleak with heavy rain. These trees overlook the neighboring cow pasture.

Rain turned to snow around noon and the backyard forest was turning white.
 

Monday morning (that's today) - it's suddenly a winter wonderland!

View from the front porch.

And numerous glimpses from the back "yard" (below) - all photos taken from the back porch

 

 

FREEZING

You haven't fully experienced the unmitigated excitement of winter until your furnace dies and the temperature plummets to ZERO (0) overnight. And you're stuck smack dab in the freakin' wilderness, where no one will ever find your ice-encrusted corpse when you freeze to death.

I spent an unnervingly restless night, watching the frigid hours drag by, and fervently praying that there wouldn't be a power outage (which always occur during the coldest time of the year). 

I'm keeping reasonably warm with several space heaters and an electric blanket. I kept the sink faucets running (not dripping) all night, to avoid (hopefully) frozen water pipes.
A frozen water pipe burst under the house during the first winter that I lived here, and memories of the experience still torture me.

The temperature was three (3) degrees (Fahrenheit) at dawn, and only got up to around 12 degrees for most of the day. 

Ice. Ice is the culprit. The doors were frozen shut, and it took the warmth of a hair dryer to pry the back door open. The day was bright with sunshine, but that did nothing to thwart the ice or alleviate the cold.

Of course, nothing can dissuade me from wandering outside and taking photos - even though I had to stay near the house, and nearly turned into a popsicle within three minutes.
The intense glare from the sun, ice, and snow was blinding - rendering my photographic efforts less than satisfactory.

So, what other adventures did I have today?
The roast that I made in the slow cooker turned out perfect.
BUT.....despite the delicious tenderness of the roast and vegetables, one of my teeth broke while I was eating. It completely broke apart into fragments. Go figure.....

In an attempt to alleviate my nerves and forget the hundreds (no exaggeration) of problems that are plaguing me, I watched Murder on the Orient Express, starring David Suchet. It's one of my favorite Poirot episodes (and one of Agatha Christie's best books). I've seen it numerous times.
A chilling tale that unfolds on a snowbound train - depicting the inherent evil of humanity....

In case anyone is interested, all of the Suchet/Poirot PBS episodes are available for free on YouTube. Check out the YouTube channel BritTV.

Meanwhile.....
back here in the miserable wilds of Tennessee, it's supposed to be even colder tonight than last night and I'm dreading it.

Lately, I've been dreading every aspect of my miserable existence....but I suppose that's beside the point.

I have nothing more to offer, except some of the photos that I took today.

 

My car

 

SLIGHTLY SHIVERING

Thirty years ago I was told that the Arctic ice floes were rapidly melting and polar bears were dying.

Well, comrades, I just looked out my window and saw a family of polar bears freezing to death. 

Am I being sarcastic?
Nope. I wouldn't even think of it.

Presently here in the wilds of Tennessee there's a winter storm warning with the promise of 6 to 10 inches of snow. It's snowing heavily as I write this. I just took a screenshot of our current weather conditions at noon (above).

Tonight the temperature is dropping to near zero (0). The fact that my furnace isn't working will definitely enhance the excitement of the occasion. I'm presently heating the house with numerous space heaters. And, after I finish writing this blog post, I'll be putting a roast in the slow cooker. My two cats are sleeping on the bed, near a space heater. The bedroom and kitchen are presently the two warmest rooms. The rest of the house is ICE.

Fear not - - I'm feeling cozy and doing okay so far......
BUT, if we get a power outage tonight I'm a dead duck. 

If I survive the night, I'll try to take more snow photos tomorrow.

Send positive thoughts my way. I sure as hell am going to need them.

                                       Cheers, Jon