The cold cometh

[Riley Smith]

The holidays are over, everyone killed their calories limit, and the weather has been great. We had fun on two beaches this year! We went and stayed with my son in lower Alabama for a couple of days. We send Chinese lanterns out over the gulf on New Year every year from the Labrot House, and it is a big thing with the young and children, and this adult. It's become a tradition, although we have to make sure a north wind is blowing. That's usually no problem this time of year, but it can be. This year they went due south into a clear sky and I'm sure some of the tug captains in the ICW were wondering if the NJ drones had come south for the winter    I remember one year the best one managed to gain enough height to get in another stream of air and made a turn due west after going about a mile out over the water. I got gifted some high-end whiskey for the occasion so all-in-all it was a great New Year Eve.

So the cold cometh, although the sun has been shining for several days. Temps are supposed to be frigid for this area next week. Most years we don't worry about really cold weather until after Christmas, and true to form, it is on the way. The hickory tree on the beach is still a beautiful yellow and still has most of its leaves. One thing I don't understand. How can they tell me three or four days ahead of time the faucets are going to freeze, and haven't a clue where the hurricane is going to hit in the next 12 hrs? Anyway, hope ya'll had a good Christmas and a Happy New Year.  I'm expecting a granddaughter, a bunch of baby chickens, and continued chaos in the neat future    Life is good and full! Picture is the local heron taken from the porch.

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[Frank B.]

Had nine humans, two dogs, and a cat as guests off and on for two weeks, all of them here for two days,  I got a really bad cold, had to go into semi-quarantine for a week or so, felt really bad, tested negative for Covid, too mild for the flu, but it worked out OK.  Put the hose bib insulcaps on before the last cold snap and left them.  This next one will have to remember to leave the cabinet doors open in the kitchen and utility room, and run about a 250 watt heater in front of them they have frozen before but never burst. Missed a great opportunity with all that muscle here to go up do a quick mast drop and reroute my halyards but felt too bad to do it, now feel great they've all gone home.

Going through the firewood fast this year, may run out and have to get another 1/4 cord to get through the season, the "Rick-O-Meter" may show this as a colder than average winter, or just as likely Spring will strike about the first of February.

A happy and, most importantly given the estimated age of this audience, a healthy new year.  I'd add prosperous but the truth is most of us are probably where we need to be with that.