Northeaster

We just came in from covering the last of the potato row with old hay to protect them from the cold air that is coming in with a roar. The Canadians always refer to these outflows of cold air from the north as an Arctic Outflow. I always envision cold air from the dark of outer space seeping into the high arctic in the absence of the sun and then finding cracks in which to flow down into the sunny areas. I remember in the past throwing hay over my dahlia beds as the ground froze under my feet. We get these days of cold dry air periodically during the winter, right now the humidity is about 52% and dropping every time I check the new digital weather station I got Joel for Christmas. It was in the 80's this morning. That kind of weather makes my hair fly around and the cats spark when you pet them. We rarely ever get snow when it gets cold here because the cold air is so dry Once in a while we are on the edge between the cold dry arctic air and the warm moist ocean air and then we get snow. This kind of cold dry weather is really hard on the garden. Even the really winter hardy things can dry out when the ground is too frozen for them to get moisture out of it while the cold wind is drying out the leaves.

So we will hunker down for a couple of days, keep the fire going and be grateful that since we are off the grid electrically our power isn't going to go out. It's hard to keep the studio warm enough to work as its heat is mainly from a fan from the main room where the stove is located, but I can sit close to the fire and knit and read and drink many cups of hot tea. It can be downright cozy. I think I'll make chili for dinner.