More Ramblings from My Chilly Area

[AlArchie]

It was really cold around here the other day (warmer now) and the old mind wandered again. Here's where it went.

It Looks Cold

I was sitting in the easy chair the other evening, just looking out the window, and I said to my self, “Man, it sure looks cold out there!” It was, of course. The thermometer on the post said it was minus 17, but that wasn't the point. It LOOKED cold.


Across the road behind the house, the field was a snowy dark white. The sun had just set behind a gray layer of clouds with no hint of color, but the sky was clear overhead. On this side of the road, that same snow showed a nasty gray blue hue as it was shaded by the grove of spruce and pines to the west. It just looked cold.


We all tend to understand what cold feels like, especially here in the north woods. But “looking cold” was a relatively new thought to me. Then I got thinking about other times and places where it was obvious that it really did look cold.


One late evening on a winter camp out with a bright half moon high in the sky. I was watching the embers of our campfire fade to a low crimson when I happened to gaze toward the moon and noticed the air filled with tiny sparkling crystals. It wasn't snowing and these shards were so small that if this kept up all night there wouldn't be a noticeable accumulation on the ground. The ground was, however, beginning to shimmer with this fairy dust that must have been cast about by the Ice Princess.
It was almost overwhelming, and it looked so cold.


There were several instances before I retired when I was still patrolling the roads of Gogebic and Ontonagon Counties that came to mind as looking cold. Driving into Bessemer from the east one January night, I noticed a layer of what appeared to be wispy clouds hanging over the whole town. Then I notice the smoke rising from all the chimneys. It rose straight up on windless air, driven by the warmth from the furnaces. A temperature inversion limited it's rise to about a hundred feet and at that juncture the smoke simply stopped rising and, as it was still warm , spread out in a hazy layer at the base of the inversion. Bessemer looked cold on that January night.


Several times each winter we take a drive down to Black River Harbor. These short excursions seem to renew our awe of the “Big Lake”.


One particular trip sticks in my mind. It was late in the day and I thought it would have good light for some winter photos. From the warmth of the car, I could see that a stiff north wind was smashing blue black water against and over the break wall. Low layered dark clouds held the sky hostage. Spray ice covered the harbor's entrance lights. The river, though mostly frozen, was still fighting its way through amber tinted frozen blocks on its way to the lake.


It wasn't long before the day grew darker and the light was lost. No time for photos now. I never did know what the actual temperature was but it looked COLD!


There were other times, like the 3:00AM February drive back from Watersmeet on US-2 when the Aurora Borealis spread across the entire sky dome in a shimmering curtain shielding an otherwise crystal sky. Or, on the same road, when we had to stop every 10 or 15 miles to let the windshield thaw enough to so we could see the pavement. When we did, there on a snowbank stood a lone deer, snorting steam from frosted nostrils.


Another clear as glass night found us eastbound on M-28 near Ewen. Across a frozen field, the glow of a kitchen window washed from a farm house onto a field of drifted white . Smoke from the fireplace stood in a straight column high into the night sky til it was lost against the black of the firmament. We saw all these from the warmth of our four wheel rolling shelter, but it surely LOOKED COLD!


It is one thing to be out and about when the temperature tweaks our senses, but it's also nice to stay in a warm environment and gaze out to where it looks so cold!

Al

[Buffalo Bif]

I am not as far north as you, but far enough to know what you are talking about. I generally close the blinds.

You write well, the imagry is vivid. Thanks for sharing.

[Eddy-Smiles]

Al...I'll keep that in mind this afternoon as I whittle out on my front bench in 81 degree temperatures!

[neilE]

I love your writing and I agree there is something almost magical about "looking cold". We don't get it often around Vancouver but I have spent many nights in the Caribou durring winter and the moonlight shining on sparly air is incredible.

Neil

[AL...]

Im in the North of Scotland I know what you are talking about when you say "It looks cold". Those are the days I light the fire and count my blessings that I dont work in Norway anymore

Cheers
AL

[woodshed]

Reading that gave me a chill....think I'll have a toddy.....

[AlArchie]

Brian, thanks for taking the time to read my mind wander. I really don't mind looking out at this "cold". Dealing with the snow is another matter, but this year has been an easy one snow wise.

Eddy, if it was 80, I'd be running the air conditioner. One of the drawbacks of living uphere all my life is a lack of tolerance for heat!

Thanks Neil, we are among the fortunate ones who have been blessed with those sparkling ice crystals in the moonlight. One of the beauties of living here in Big Snow Country.

Al, I too don't regret not having to go to work out in those temps any more. There was a lot of berauty to encounter, but there were times when it was down near -40 that being out of the car for hours on an accident or searches, put a damper on the "fun"!


John, a toddy sounds like a great idea....maybe I'll join you.

Al

[Kenny_S]

Been away from the board for a while and when I got back in, what caught my eye, but "More Ramblings from My Chilly Area. Emjoyed the Rambling for sure. However Al, you can keep that "looks Cold" up there.
Best to you.

[chisler10]

This reminds me of a time years ago when I was driving a big rig in northern Alberta, bright sunshine, ice crystals in the air and a chilly -38. The smoke from the stacks was pure white and streamed out and formed a trail behind me like the con-trails from a plane. Man that was cold.
Patrick

[Dan Wegiel]

Hi Al,
Wonderful "ramblin's"! Always enjoy taking the journey with you, feel like I'm right there. Thank you very much.
Dan