In the Midst of the Storm
25 Jan 2026 03:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ursulas_alcoveOtherwise known as winter. It started around 1:30 am. By morning, it was coming from the east, which is weird. It wasn't deep yet. I don't know what the final totals will be, maybe a foot or 18". I am not worried about the snow. I am worried about the bitter cold. Friday night it hit 1 degree F. It never got above 10 over the weekend. It's still very cold and will dip into negative numbers over the next 10 days.
My fear is water main bursts. Our area rarely gets temperatures this cold and never for a 10 day period. I know where my house water main shutoff is. I am happy they upgraded it to a valve instead of a pipe wrench turn-off. What that means is it looks like a regular faucet like you'd have on your outdoor hose hookup. Pittsburgh already had a water main freeze today. Our neighborhood is old. Pipes are not insulated. Probably 80 % of the houses aren't either. When they were built, most had rainwater cisterns. I know my house has one. It's been filled in but still . . .
It's still snowing. The neighbor shoveled my walk when the snow reached 6" deep. The cold makes the snow be powdery. It's not heavy. They say it is currently 15 degrees but it feels like 6. The danger around the US is from exploding trees. January is when sap rises and people go maple sugar gathering. The bitter temperatures have created the perfect scenario to cause trees to literally explode. It's not a good idea to be out in the woods. Before the storm, I was winding yarn. I heard a thump A squirrel rushed to the window where I was working. I thought it had fallen off my porch roof. Nope. The wind took a limb. I had been cutting the tree to prevent this very scenario but I ran out of time. See below. The exposed bark is where it broke. More branches from above broke as well.
It's going to be a while before I can get out there to clean up that mess. Since I am stuck inside, I've been working on winding yarn and dyeing things on the stovetop. One, it humidifies the house a treat and two, it's warm. I'm using a glass jar to hopefully get more even dyeing. Typically the bottom near the heat takes on too much dye or even burns/damages the yarn. Electric stoves are not kind. This is working remarkably well. I'm on my 4th pound of yarn right now. There's a fiber show in February I have to get ready for.
Stay safe out there.
My fear is water main bursts. Our area rarely gets temperatures this cold and never for a 10 day period. I know where my house water main shutoff is. I am happy they upgraded it to a valve instead of a pipe wrench turn-off. What that means is it looks like a regular faucet like you'd have on your outdoor hose hookup. Pittsburgh already had a water main freeze today. Our neighborhood is old. Pipes are not insulated. Probably 80 % of the houses aren't either. When they were built, most had rainwater cisterns. I know my house has one. It's been filled in but still . . .
It's still snowing. The neighbor shoveled my walk when the snow reached 6" deep. The cold makes the snow be powdery. It's not heavy. They say it is currently 15 degrees but it feels like 6. The danger around the US is from exploding trees. January is when sap rises and people go maple sugar gathering. The bitter temperatures have created the perfect scenario to cause trees to literally explode. It's not a good idea to be out in the woods. Before the storm, I was winding yarn. I heard a thump A squirrel rushed to the window where I was working. I thought it had fallen off my porch roof. Nope. The wind took a limb. I had been cutting the tree to prevent this very scenario but I ran out of time. See below. The exposed bark is where it broke. More branches from above broke as well.
It's going to be a while before I can get out there to clean up that mess. Since I am stuck inside, I've been working on winding yarn and dyeing things on the stovetop. One, it humidifies the house a treat and two, it's warm. I'm using a glass jar to hopefully get more even dyeing. Typically the bottom near the heat takes on too much dye or even burns/damages the yarn. Electric stoves are not kind. This is working remarkably well. I'm on my 4th pound of yarn right now. There's a fiber show in February I have to get ready for.
Stay safe out there.
no subject
Date: 26 Jan 2026 12:00 am (UTC)put extra rings from canning under the jars
to keep the jars off the bottom.
this weather is just erratic
keep thinking we should see penguins
even though I know we don't have enough fish
no subject
Date: 26 Jan 2026 02:22 pm (UTC)Yes, penguins need salt water fish. The storm regrouped and is massive, barreling now towards Ireland and the UK. They renamed it Amber. Ironically it started in the Pacific as a cyclone named Fred. The US called it Fern. Wonder where it’ll go next?
no subject
Date: 26 Jan 2026 04:31 pm (UTC)