BRRRRR

The snow fell silently covering the lawn, the gardens, and the trees. It continued to fall, and fall, and fall… accumulating to 16 inches that December 2008. The temperatures plummeted and the snow stayed around for 3 weeks. Inside the house the wood stove threw out heat, the furnace ran to keep pace. We were dressed in layers, covered with blankets and still cold. The time to fly south with the snowbirds had arrived.

Four years later we sit in Sun City AZ and watch the thermometer read 27 degrees each morning. BRRRR
We left the NW in winter for warmer temperatures. Who knew the jet stream would drop nearly to Mexico in January 2013?

When the alert occurred people went out to cover the citrus trees. The small ones could be covered with plastic or sheets, but the big tree need to make it on their own.

Those of us in RVs went out and wrapped the water pipes creatively. We also unhook our water as a precaution.

Dog owners still need to get their dogs out, even in COLD weather. Here are some photos of some people taking their dogs out. Notice the headbands, gloves and heavy coats. I love the “Fargo” type hat of the man across the way. These same people usually walk in tee shirts and jeans or even shorts. Most of these people are from cold climates and just had to dig into their storage bins for appropriate attire.

The only person who probably doesn’t mind the cold snap is the Shamrock Propane man who delivers our propane in the park. When he filled our tanks he said “if only he could have a dollar for every phone call he received and people asked ‘where are you?’ and ‘when are you coming?’ “The Shamrock truck moves constantly around the park on our appointed days.

After a week of below freezing night temperatures, we are looking forward to next week’s forecast of night temps in the 40 degree range and day time temps of 67-76 degrees. January temperatures often fluctuate, but not to the low extremes of late. We have managed the cold well. However, I hope to get back into the pool soon. Derrille has still been walking each morning. We bought him a new thick pair of sweatpants and he can layer for warmth. The number of walkers out and about dipped with the cold. A few brave souls did get out on bikes in the afternoons. BRRR still too cold for me. We used this opportunity to take our bikes in for yearly maintenance. They will be back with the warm weather, when we need them to ride to the main complex and swimming pool.

Stay warm wherever you are!