The Cold Days of January

This morning at 8am it was 0 on the porch. Which means it was probably colder at, oh, say, 4am. Still zero was plenty cold enough.

But would January chill keep us from our Saturday morning breakfast at the Downtowner? Of course not. On the way to town, I noticed Joe's Run was completely iced over...

except for one small spot where the water ran merrily over frozen stones, giving away the secret below the ice--water that still ran freely whatever the surface might pretend.

At home I began preparations for this evening's Apple Wassailing. Will the cold keep us from our plans? Of course not. A group of hardy fools--I mean souls--will join us for an evening of wassail and King Cake (okay, not real King Cake, but my homemade applesauce cake with dark and golden raisins, and in one cupcake a bean and in another a pea. Why? Read about it here).

As I prepared the cake I realized I needed a jar of applesauce from the cellar.

Oopsie. Another gift of the bitter cold---hooved-up ground beneath the cellar porch that cracked the concrete and prevented the door from opening. This called for a stronger one than I, so I called out the big guns--well, I called out Larry.

Fortunately we were able to get the door open far enough to get the applesauce. Unfortunately the door had to break a little when we forced it open. That will be a repair job for warmer weather (like July!). For now, it will sort of open and close. The heat lamp inside is keeping our stored food safe so far.

Now, back to getting ready to run around Jackson County in the snow, wassailing a few apple trees (and I daresay ourselves as well!). More about that tomorrow, I hope. After all, we must still be entertained, even in the cold of January.

The side garden, winter-messy but with the lavender still showing faint signs of green.