Today was perhaps the first day that the cold drove many of the residents of Bedlam Farm out of their routines and under cover. It was too cold for us to shovel the manure out of the barn this morning, too cold for Red to move down the paths and through the snow, too, too cold for the sheep to stand out on the snow and ice under the feeder, only the donkeys seemed able to stand out in it and eat as usual.

It was – 20 on the barn thermometer this morning, it just seemed a lot colder than it sometimes does, I don’t know why. Our frost-free water line is holding up well, that has been a boon, the new firewood is burning well, John Halloran is coming this morning to clean out the wood stoves and make sure they are burning cleanly. They have been on day and night for weeks and we want to make sure there’s no creosote build-up. John lost his English bulldog recently and is nearly inconsolable, it is touching to see a big and tough man talk about his lost dog. I am urging him to get another, I gave him a copy of “Going Home.”

Because the stoves are being cleaned, we let them go cold last night and the house feels it, it is chilly to the bone in here, even with the furnace going. The sun is out, perhaps things will warm up.