Winter in the Northland

Be careful what you wish for.  I have complained that we not only don't have enough snow to do anything with but also that the temperature has been so high that what little snow we had has become useless.  No, we did not get two feet of snow overnight.  What we got were colder temperatures.  It was -21F/-29C when we left home this morning and is -10F now. 

Tweed's Frosty Whiskers

That isn't too bad, really, even with windchills of -30F or so.  Sure, your nose hair freezes at those temperatures.  Few people turn off their cars when out running errands.  The dogs run out, do their duty, and immediately scream to be let back in the house.  It becomes more important to keep your car's tank at least half full, just in case the road decides to send you into the ditch.  Normal winter precautions.

When we got home from work this evening, we realized we hadn't run the dishwasher.  We were originally going to run it last night, then this morning so the dishes would be clean when we got home.  Scott started it shortly after we got in then took a load of laundry downstairs.  I wanted to fill my water bottle at the kitchen sink.  Nothing--no water.  I went upstairs to confirm the lack of water.  Nothing again. 

Okay, maybe the dishwasher and washing machine together were too much for the well pump.  Scott was NOT washing any laundry.  Oh, dear.  We shut off the dishwasher and went to the basement where we discovered that, as you may have guessed, the pipe coming in from the well had frozen somewhere. 

To make a long story less so, with the help of neighbor Jeremy, we found where the pipe came in as well as where it was frozen.  It took tearing apart the woodwork a bit but there is now heat going to the pipe and the water has begun to trickle.  We may not need all those buckets of snow after all.  

Stay warm!

--Susan