"Baby, it's cold outside..."

Dear Diary,

Our coldest morning of the winter so far...-15 F and the wind chill is hovering around -45 F. The snow is so frozen that I can walk on top of it and not sink in!

My little flock of mourning doves in the locust tree by the house are huddle together to stay warm.  They are nothing but big brown puff balls!  I could barely see their heads.  But moderating temperatures are coming, thankfully.

I made one, quick, trip to the pond on Tuesday but it was brutally cold and windy.  There are two ice houses set up on the pond now.  Each has a little wood stove inside for warmth.  Maine ice fishermen are a hearty lot but in this kind of weather you need a bit of help.

What a severe yet master artist old Winter is.... No longer the canvas and the pigments, but the marble and the chisel. ~John Burroughs, "The Snow-Walkers," 1866