Cold

Ames, IA (Dec 13, 2009)

Today was warm, with most of the day above -6C (that’s 21F degrees). As I said, warm, with little wind and some clouds keeping the temperature up to a bearable level. Much better than last week, when arctic winds pushed the thermometer as low as -20C (that’s negative even in Fahrenheit). Or the week before, when we got a blizzard sweeping the midwest and depositing a foot of snow (now frozen solid in candid sculptures of ice) all over the place.

I remember reading about Iowa during the last presidential primaries (here is it where Obama got his first decisive and unexpected victory), with a correspondent from the New York Times complaining about having to report from “this ice-box”. This was way before I thought of coming here: I cannot say I didn’t knew what was in store. Which is fine, I kind of like this weather. At least the snow doesn’t melt into a muddy mess after the storm. Yeah, for sure we will keep this ice galleries until March... Anyway, at least the houses in Iowa are better isolated and warm than the places we have been in Massachusetts,. Nice ice crystals, however, still form in the inside of window panes (meaning it is a must to have double panes), as shown in the little photo on the left. The large photo? One of the little birds that have made their home in our garden to take advantage of our bird seeder, a very popular item these days.