Arctic Survival

I haven't put much about cold temperatures in my blogs. It has been cold and at times I would like to say something about it, but I have three kids in Alaska who read the blog or might read the blog and fire off an email pointing out what wuss I am. Well, tonight it is supposed to be -11 with 10 to 15 mph winds. That's cold even up in Prudhoe Bay and Fairbanks. The difference is it isn't unusual there, it is here.

I wouldn't care much since it is cozy next to the fire, but we have the two horses out in an open barn and we will have to make some quick changes for them. The wind chill with that temp makes it equivalent to -30 and that could make horsesicles.
Today we'll scrounge up some plywood and get ready to close off the doorways to the horse stalls this evening. If I had built the doors I have been trying to find time to build for two years, I would just pull them shut. I have the hardware. It was a gift from my sons, Ben and Matt, and I should have found the time by now to build the doors. I swear as soon as the canning cupboard is done and the weather breaks enough that I can dig enough wood out of the snow, I am going to start.

On nights below 10 degrees, I keep hot water on the stove and take it out every three or four hours to pour in horses water buckets. They have learned to drink fairly warm water and I am sure this helps them maintain body heat. We give them hay along with the warm water. Cold weather requires extra hay and their consumption almost doubles over summer levels. The extra feedings come at night and since I get up in the night due to aging plumbing, I take care of them and feed the fire.

It takes most of an hour every three hours to do the night time chores. Keeping the fire up takes the longest. It dies down so far that it takes nurturing to bring it back up. You can't damper it down until you do, so you sit by the stove and doze until it catches and is going good. Then you climb back into bed and get some sleep before the next round. Anytime after 3:30 AM I just make coffee and stay up, it is easier than pulling yourself out of a deep sleep again. I am going to cut some hardwood this year to use overnight during these cold spells. If the fire would hold better, I could do the rest in 10 minutes without really waking up. This would be a lot better.

As hard as this sounds, I enjoy it. When you do something necessary that requires you to push yourself a bit, it is rewarding. There is something else too. The quiet crackling of the fire, the bucolic sounds of horses eating and shuffling a bit, Kris and the dog breathing gently in peaceful sleep, the radiant warmth of the wood stove--all of these are music to me. My bit of work keeps this quiet symphony going. It is a wonderful feeling and I think it is not something most people get to experience these days. It is the reward you receive from the small labors of love you do. Everyone does these labors, but most don't have the time to savor them next to the fire with a cup of coffee. I almost feel sorry for those of you who sleep peacefully through the night-- almost.