Dead Of Winter

We are in the dead of winter at Heart House. Life continues pretty much in the routine we have established: some projects, some fun, watching the birds and squirrels at the feeders, and passing the winter hours. Here is what occupied our time this past week.

Much of the activity is based around outside temperatures, which saw roller coaster-like changes. A few days were above freezing but then arctic air moved in. We had lows approaching -20 degrees, and the windchill was near forty below. Other than filling the bird feeder and putting out corn cobs for the squirrels, not a lot of my time was spent outdoors! I did hang a suet feeder, a first for us. I managed one quick shot of a nuthatch using it and hope to get more (and better) photos in the upcoming days.

Inside Pam and Becky are working on a puzzle (the second of two) – a good way to spend some time.

We have learned Becky is a pretty good cook and our menus have been more varied than in the past. It’s an interesting change and opens up different culinary experiences for us. Becky has learned some of Pam’s tricks in return; between them dinners are pretty good.

My contributions are very limited, mostly doing the grocery shopping and an occasional pancake night.

I did take in a Vintage Snowmobile Show which was held in nearby Cresco. This year the show featured John Deere snowmobiles and a couple of rare machines were on hand. One model was one of only 126 produced and another was one of 250 produced. I walked around a bit, spoke to a couple of the owners, and enjoyed my visit. However, the temperature was 8 degrees above and a strong wind was blowing across the open display area so I did not stay overly long. Here are a couple photos of the event.

Snow is in the forecast for the next couple days and it looks like NE Iowa can look forward to around 4 inches of the white stuff, not a major storm but enough to shovel. Temperatures will then plunge well into the minus range below zero. I have been running my kerosene heater in the garage on these cold nights in an attempt to keep the temperatures above zero. So far this has worked but I have gone through 10 gallons of kerosene so far and will undoubtedly go through more in the near future. Last year, in comparison, I used only about 5 gallons for the whole season. It seems we are running almost 20 degrees colder than average. I could do without the sub-zero days.

I’ve been monitoring the temperatures in Fairplay, Colorado, the town closest to our lot. Fairplay, located at an elevation of 9,953 feet, has been warmer than NE Iowa! A look at Park County webcams reveals that Colorado and Iowa have about the same amount of snow, maybe more in Iowa than is present around our mountain property. We expected cold winters when we planned our move to the Midwest, but this borders on the ridiculous.

On the brighter side, there haven’t been any frozen pipes as we had during the winters of 2019 and 2020. The relocation of the upstairs water lines was a success in this regard. We are still waiting on the plumbing company to finish the laundry room drain line and hook up the job sink. When finished, and the wash machine moves to it’s new location, we will eliminate the heating taped pipes that currently run to the washer. The pipes don’t freeze with the heating tapes operating, but the new location is along an inside wall where the tapes will not be necessary.

That about wraps up this week’s news.

Photo Archive

From spring of 1990 — these photos of visits to parks in the Pacific NW.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Penny

Keeping the internal temp of the catio around 32 degrees is a real challenge in January and February. I feel bad for the outside cats in frigid NE Iowa temps, even with the heated inside space. A little fiddling with heated water bowls was necessary to have drinkable water available. I frequently see two of “our” neighborhood-wandering feral cats (Melody and Stardust) visiting the winter water and feeder locations. At present I monitor three permanent cat residents inside the catio.

This time of year, the electrical and propane bills for Heart House are truly monumental. The house thermostat is set at 66 degrees, but still the furnace runs pretty much constantly the first two months of the year. Knowing we have instituted what energy savings measures we can afford (and that make sense), I pay the bills and try not to ponder the cost. It’s an old house, so be it.

Two pairs of cardinals show up at the 7th Street feeder frequently, usually mornings and evenings. Their red plumage against the snow cover is a welcome, cheery sight.

Happy Trails.