Cold, really cold

A pretty severe cold snap late in January 2011 tested the limits of people to stay warm.

The cold up in the mountains is different than the cold down on flat ground; the air has a clean feel to it as opposed to a suffocating grip that Denver cold has. Up here, the cold is brutal, dangerous.

The Bar B Ranch was pretty warm and the woodstove, although an inefficient piece of metal, worked well to keep the house toasty warm. The woodpile took a sufficient beating and after a snowstorm with a couple of feet of snow, finding wood is a challenge. For next year, I now know how much I’ll need to heat the house, as well as how to store it so it’s accessible during deep snow and frigid temps.

The hardest year in a house is the first year. All problems come to light and the learning curve is pretty steep. No pun intended.

As far as my thermometer, this wasn’t the coldest temperature that thing would register. The following night, it was -22. A friend posted an image on Facebook showing her car thermometer which that same morning, read, -31.

Now that’s cold.