Dan Antion

Baby It’s Cold Outside

This is the benefit of taking your dog out early.

Welcome to February. I want to thank all of you who remained on board the ride as I indulged my fascination with Just Jot January. I will now revert back to my normal weekly schedule, and, as your reward, I will keep this short.

As the title informs you, we are exiting a cold snap. Yesterday, Sunday, was the warmest of the past three days. When I was bundling up to take Maddie outside, it was 3°f (-16°c) – that’s cold. It was colder earlier when The Editor first took Maddie outside at 5:00 am. Fortunately, the wind had died down from the blustery day that was Saturday. Early Saturday morning, the wind chill – for those of you who don’t experience wind chill, it’s how cold it feels on a windy winter day – was -20°f (-29°c). Maddie still found it necessary to check the perimeter, but we did so at a brisk pace.

The days got warmer in the afternoon. Although Friday never made it beyond the teens, Saturday and Sunday both saw highs reach into the mid-twenties. Positively balmy. Now we are preparing for another round of snow.

Having four seasons means experiencing winter. It’s not that bad, especially these days. Even before my retirement and covid, there were opportunities to work remotely to avoid snow covered roads – sometimes. Of course, there was also my boss who scheduled staff meetings on days when the forecast included snow. Our homes, our cars and our offices have reliable heat (when I was working, my office was never warm unless I added a space heater).

I am sharing some pictures in the gallery from our cold weekend. I’m told we may see 40°f (4°c) by Thursday. By then, we’ll be singing “We’re Having a Heatwave” but for today, I’m sharing the song stuck in some of your heads after reading the title. The song suffered under the weight of complaints that it was sexist. I hope no one is offended today.

“Red sky at morning, sailors warning”
I think I’ll put a coat on before taking Maddie out.
Making tracks. It looks like someone was on a mission.
This room will be toasty.
Maddie would prefer to lay next to the stove, but she gets too hot.
MiMi has melted. This is how we do cold.
Don’t worry, Jinx is in no danger. This image is in my side view mirror while I was stopped at a traffic light at the end of the bridge.
After three cold days. Creeks are beginning to freeze.
Winter scene.
This is a little “beach” are on the Connecticut River. I think i’ll keep a safe distance.
That’s the I-91 bridge over the Connecticut River. The river is beginning to freeze, but given the warm weather that’s coming, I doubt it will freeze over.
The Farmington River is downstream of a flood control dam. It rarely freezes in this section.
Looking down the Farmington River.
Across from the river we are able to see some of the storm damage from last fall’s storm.
This little creek is frozen.

103 comments

  1. I’m with you in claiming “it’s cold outside.” I so want to take a long walk, but with ice and biting winds, no thank you. I love your photos and vicariously enjoy the fireplace. MiMi is adorable. Stay warm, Dan. 😊

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    • Thanks Gwen. Poor Maddie is missing her walk again. Our snow storm arrived early. It wasn’t supposed to start until 3:00 pm, but it started overnight. MiMi knows how to handle the cold 😏

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  2. Thanks Dan – I’d noted a long cold storm is ‘a-coming in’ … but glad you’re coping. Animals are a delight … while the Editor is pretty amazing going out at 5.00 am … that’s cold. Love the photos … just glad it’s not here – all the best – Hilary

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  3. Your pics remind me of something I miss from going in to the office every winter, Dan, and that’s some nice-looking sunsets. Oh, and it’s nice to see the pets enjoying the indoors at this super-chilly time of year. :)

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  4. Same weather, same wicked cold here, with the snowstorm on the way. The only thing that offended me in this post was the 71° inside temperature. I haven’t seen or felt that since last summer. Here, I thought everyone wore layers inside and used an afghan when they sat down. :-)

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    • The snow started overnight here. Our plows have already made one pass. The 71° is at that unit, which is at the intersection of two heating zones. I think it’s the warmest place in the house. I am currently wearing a hoodie. Ironically, I’ll be wearing the hoodie in July, when The Editor is in charge of the AC 😏

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  9. Baby it IS cold outside! I must say I’m a tad offended by the people who are offended so easily. Maybe I should write about it. I am amazed at how similar our weather is to yours Dan. Although we didn’t get quite as cold as you we did, we hit -20c (-4f) windchill. But we are expecting to be above 0 in a few days. The one thing I will say about the cold is that it gives an opportunity for exquisite photographs!

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    • At least you’re not offended by the song. When I looked it up, all the initial search results were about how sexist the song is (although that didn’t stop them from re-recording it). I would always expect your weather to be colder than ours. Maybe that’s just what you tell people in the US to keep us out.

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      • That is a wide range. We can get similar variation. Though usually not quite 8″. We are on the western edge of our snow belt and usually the southern and eastern areas catch more. Except when the winds dictate otherwise. And then it can be just the opposite. Stay safe.

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  14. Bravo for completing Just Jot January. Love the red morning sky with the saying I always heard from my grandfather. We had a cold weekend, but I was under the weather and stayed bundled up in flannel sheets for a large part of it. I like the song, but of course it always reminds me of Grumpy Old Men and I suppose even that could be considered sexist by some.

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  15. Oh boy, you’ve had it really cold! We’ve had snowy, and windy followed by sunny and a warm 33 degrees week-end.
    It’s only 19 degrees now and there’s a chance of snow today, but I wouldn’t have gone far from the yard at 3 degrees!
    It’s pretty there in the winter too!

    I think I’ll go listen to Dean now. 😀

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    • We don’t stray very far from the yard when it’s in single-digits. I like to wait until it’s at least in the 20s to walk Maddie. She wants to go, but it does bother her feet. We’re getting snow now, but it should end early tomorrow morning. I think we will be on the low end of the scale in our region. That’s OK with me. Someone else can have the 17″ pile. I’ll settle for 8″.

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  16. Your photos make me shiver. I love that sunrise. Such a beautiful sight. The weather bringing you the snow passed us without letting go a drop. We sure needed it too. That uproar on the song was a case of special interests gone wild. Have a good week, Dan.

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  17. I don’t know how you do 3 degrees. It’s going down to 34 tonight so that means we cover up the potted ferns on the patio. And I don’t let the outdoor cats out until I think it’s warm enough. Husband looks at them and says, ‘They have enough to keep them warm.’ translation: They are very well fed Melting MiMi and the tracks on the roof so made me smile! Would that be Sammy making tracks? Stay warm, Dan!

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    • We don’t have to do 3 degrees very often, Lois. The squirrels seem to know it’s coming and they do a lot of begging up front. It’s hard for them to find stuff to eat in the snow. We hope it was Sammy on the roof. Otherwise, we’re in trouble. One of them comes down the roof from the tree and then forgets how to get back (or so he makes it seem). He can jump to the shed roof and then into the shrubs, but he prefers that we take pity on him and toss peanuts to lead him back to the ridge.

      MiMi loves it when we have a fire. She just melts in the cradle and bakes. Good for you for keeping those outside cats from starving.

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  19. We had a couple of inches of snow. which does not sound like much, but is more than the total snow we had last winter here in Northern Virginia. So much of the snow on the road turned into slush that froze overnight, so the roads and sidewalks are icy, which in my book is worse than having lots more snow. I am pretty much sticking inside today and maybe tomorrow. By Wednesday I hope it will be safe to emerge. Since I am no longer working, I’m happy that I was not commuting today.

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  21. First things first! I have always LOVED “Baby It’s Cold Outside” and still do….and that includes Dean Martin. How anyone can label this whimsical, romantic song as “sexest” is just beyond me.

    Maddie and MiMi sure know how to handle winter. The winter landscapes are beautiful, but the sunrise is stunning.
    Ginger

    Think positive. Test negative.

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    • I’m glad you like that song, Ginger. I guess just about anything can offend someone, but I really didn’t see how this was a big deal.

      MiMi knows how to stay warm. Maddie still had to go out, but we have that routine down. Taking Maddie out is what let me see that sunrise. Bless her heart.

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  22. We had that cold last week, but today it’s sunny snd warm here, which I’ll hang onto since there is even colder weather arriving at the end of the week. How’s the snow today? Will you have a need for the snowblower tomorrow?

    Happy Monday, Dan!

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    • I will be using the snow blower tomorrow. Looks like maybe 8-10″ will be on the ground by morning. It’s hard to say. They keep changing the forecast. It’s been snowing since before 6:00 am, but light fluffy stuff.

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  23. My blood has clearly thinned out living in So Cal for so many years. I remember temps like you described growing up in Iowa. Now, I’m cold if the high doesn’t get to 70º f (21.11º c). I saw this morning that the east is getting a lot of snow. Great pics….brrrrr

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  24. I’ve used both songs but know some people object, that’s okay. I think of both when the weather calls. We had a reprieve with a couple of days above 45 degrees! Today it’s actually sunny and 54! Woohoo! I live looking at partially frozen water, especially if the underneath is moving… very interesting.

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    • The cats keep their distance, but it takes a lot of work on our part. We had cats and dogs for 30 years before Maddie arrived, and we had no problems. Maddie has some neurological issues and acts on instinct more often than training. We have gates in places where Maddie is blocked, but the cats can get through. We also have times when Maddie is in her crate and the cats have more freedom. It’s a balancing act.They can be together. Most of the time, Maddie is nice to them, but the UPS man can come and all bets are off.

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  27. Mimi looks so relaxed. Wasn’t that long ago that we were in Chicago for a -52 F with wind chill, so I have a good idea what you’re taking about. As you say, to live in four seasons means winter so you might as well enjoy it as much as possible. Could say the same about summer here too. :-)

    janet

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  32. I had to laugh at your last paragraph. Just yesterday, I heard a forecast that our temps will go into the 30s this week, and my first thought was “heat wave!” But at least we’ve only had a little snow. I can take the cold if the snow isn’t too deep and the wind isn’t too strong – and I don’t have to be out in it for very long.

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  33. Wow!!! It IS cold where you live! I see snow in your photos. We got over a foot here in Eastern PA on Sunday and Monday. Not quite as cold here – maybe in the low 20s, but windy and raw. Happy February! Spring is just around the corner. I hope!

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  36. There’s been snow here down south a few times this season. In the past few years though, there wasn’t any. Still, most snowfalls don’t leave much here and the dead grass is the only thing showing by noon. I call what is here extended fall. I miss true winter.

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  37. I was not offended — I still think that song is charming, catchy tune, too.
    Your weather station is pretty awesomesauce, and I’ve kinda been wanting one since I saw yours.
    It’s that kind of cold now here, too. All week will be like that. Which means it will be freezing in my office chair next to the window. (pardon my small, pitiful cry) I will be looking forward to coming home for the additional reason of TO BE WARM!

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    • I spent the last 12 years of work in an office that would be in the 50s when I arrived in the morning. When the building manager said we weren’t allowed space heaters, I send him a picture of the thermometer I had in my office and said “then fix this!”

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      • UGH! When I worked in the office with the 59 morning start, she was fine with us slowly warming the office as the day went on.
        Re current office, we spoke to one boss about the heat and he said he will call the people. The people have not been called. Other boss makes comments about the heating bill and rarely works from our side of the office. There is definitely something wrong, because the temp doesn’t reach the ask on the thermostat, and I believe you know I have experience with that. LOL I did change our filter last week…

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  38. I use to live in a little town call Randolph Massachusetts, and it does get very cold in the winter. Being a native of Haiti. I grew up in Boston. I remember my father use to warm the car engine with a blanket. Now that is interesting.

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